The Underground
by elanev91
Summary: James and Lily are doing the fluffy things. Muggle AU, Mass Transit AU (lol not a thing?), Coffee Shop AU. This was supposed to be a one-shot, but my best friend is annoyingly convincing (and also I'm complete Jily trash). Now it's a multi-chap.
1. Chapter 1

**Happy Valentine's Day! I don't give a flying fuck about this day, but I am going to use it as an excuse to write some Jily fluff.**

 **Below, you'll find a Muggle AU with some of the usual fluffy trappings: coffee shops and tube stations. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I'm not currently in a fight with Piers Morgan on Twitter, so this isn't mine (though Piers is a prat, so go Jo, go!)**

* * *

She first noticed him when she looked up from the paper as the tube pulled into St Paul's. She only had a few more stops to go, two to be exact, until she transferred, but she was still relatively new to London and still a bit antsy about missing her tube stop. She would look up every few stops, check the station, check it against the map on the ceiling overtop the seats across her, and count how many more stops she had to go.

It was slightly neurotic, but it worked for her. At least until she felt more comfortable using the Underground.

She was looking up to perform said ritual when her eyes found him - he was sitting squarely in his seat across her, looking as though he was trying to avoid taking up too much space, and his left leg was bouncing incessantly in front of him, a nervous habit that, despite not knowing him even a little bit, she found endearing. It helped, of course, that he was easily the most gorgeous man she'd ever seen.

His ebony hair was standing straight up on top of his head, his large, black and wire-rimmed glasses had slid halfway down his nose as he read the paper on his lap, and his tie was tied loosely around his neck, positioned _just so_ so that he could easily tighten it when he walked through the door of wherever it was he worked. Judging by his look, she was actually surprised he hadn't gotten off at Bank. _Though maybe he'll get off at Chancery or something._

He stayed on, though, until the train pulled into Holborn. He stood at the same time she did as the train pulled into the station, and Lily flushed when his eyes flickered over to her and he gestured in front of him to signal that she should go first to exit the train. She grinned back in response, hitched her bag higher onto her shoulder, and walked swiftly out of the train before she did anything stupid. Like talk to him. He was gorgeous, beyond gorgeous, and she didn't need to go off into some word vomiting tangent about just how handsome he was in the middle of a crowded tube station.

She saw him again, though, on the platform for the Piccadilly line headed towards Heathrow and her stomach began to clench nervously. _How is he here, too?!_

If Marlene were here, she would have been screaming at Lily to go talk to him already. She wasn't the world's _biggest_ believer in fate, but she did think that if the universe kept throwing you into someone's path like that, you better fucking do something about it. Lily, though, didn't believe in that shit at all… but thinking about Marlene's face (and shouted curses) when she inevitably told her this story when she got home that night almost compelled her to say something to him. _But no. It would be weird. Right?_

She stood quietly on the platform for a few minutes, looking around at the brightly coloured adverts pasted on the opposite side of the platform while they waited. Every once and awhile she got that weird feeling in her gut like she felt someone's eyes on her, but every time she looked around, everyone near her on the platform seemed otherwise occupied.

Super fit gorgeous man, she noted ruefully, was too busy texting to be the one staring at her.

The train pulled into the station a few minutes later, and Super Fit moved over to queue for the same door. She watched as his hands fidgeted around his overcoat, stuffing his mobile into an outer pocket before fiddling with the buttons on the front. _God, creep. Stop watching strangers._

He looked up as the doors opened and his eyes found hers - his lips broke into a smile (a crooked, gorgeous, heart stopping, dazzling smile) and he gestured in front of him like he'd done earlier, "After you again."

She should have started up conversation right then. Should have at least said _something bloody coherent._ Instead, _God Marlene will have my head for this,_ instead, she just flushed, sputtered something completely nonsensical that sounded vaguely like "Thanks," and walked onto the train.

She buried her head into her paper as soon as she sat down… but she still managed to notice (after peeking up from behind the newspaper like a stalker) that he was sitting across from her again. He definitely looked up and saw her looking though, because he flashed that crooked smirk at her again before she dove back behind her newspaper. _Reading about Brexit will kill these excited feelings. Let's do that and fall back into our usual pit of despair, yeah?_

She hid behind the paper for about half her journey before she looked up in a panic to check the station. _Hyde Park._ Her eyes flew to the station map on the overhead across from her. _Okay, three more stops and then I'm off._ She, quite against her will, flicked her eyes downward to check if Super Fit was still on the train. He was. Thankfully, he didn't catch her looking this time. He had his own paper open and his eyes were moving rapidly across one of the centre pages.

The train pulled into Earl's Court a few minutes later and, before she'd even had time to stand up or gather her things, Super Fit was up and off the train. _Well, there goes that. Though how fucking weird is it that we're getting off at the same stop again?_

She folded the paper up in her arms, slung her bag over her shoulder, and walked swiftly off the train before she spaced out long enough and the doors closed on her. It would be an easy enough thing to remedy, but she didn't feel like riding on the tube any longer than necessary.

She stuffed the newspaper into a nearby recycling bin at the foot of the escalator and began rifling through her bag for her Oyster card. She found it, finally, buried in the bottom of the outer pocket of her bag, and walked swiftly through the turnstiles and out onto the street. It was cold, colder than she'd remembered it being when she left her flat this morning, and windy as hell. She buttoned her overcoat, stuffed her hands into her pockets, and tried to tuck her hair into the scarf around her neck, but to no avail. It, as usual, flew around her face and blinded her to most of what was going on around her. And of course, because it was Earls Court, there were people _everywhere._ It wasn't as bad as the really touristy spots were, especially at this hour of the morning, but still. It took a lot of effort to avoid slamming into people on the street.

Though she was still really new to the city, she had already managed to find (and memorise the way to) a coffee shop that was particularly conducive to writing. Sure, it was just a Costa Coffee, and, sure there was one on the high street all the way back home in Leytonstone, but this one was… this one was perfect. It was far enough away from home that she didn't risk seeing anyone she knew and getting distracted, it was constantly busy (because Kensington) so she had the perfect amount of background noise, and the staff were really nice (and tolerant of the fact that she was usually there all day hammering away on her laptop).

It was a bit of a hike from zone three, but it was worth it. Especially if she finally finished this fucking dissertation. Then it would be the most worth it thing she'd ever done.

Her bag was starting to dig into her shoulder a bit, _fucking old arse heavy as hell laptop,_ so she picked up her pace a bit. It was only a short jaunt up Earls Court Rd, maybe two minutes, but still. It was cold and this laptop was heavy and she had only had one cup of tea that morning and she was going to actually kill someone if she didn't get another cup of tea into her system as soon as humanly possible.

She finally ( _God, be more dramatic)_ got to Costa and pulled the door open. The warm air and strong, earthy coffee smell were so amazing after the bitter cold, pollution flavoured air outside that she sighed audibly as she moved into the shop and let the door fall closed behind her. She walked immediately to her spot in the corner and deposited her bag at a table near the window, before pulling out her wallet and walking back towards the counter.

 _Oh for fucks sake._

There he was - again - standing at the counter waiting for his order, the paper from the tube still stuffed under his arm as he tapped frantically on the screen of his mobile. _How?! How in the bloody hell is he_ _ **here**_ _too?!_

She felt her cheeks flush, whether with embarrassment or some kind of weird crush (or both) she wasn't quite sure. She would have to say something to him now. This was just too weird to ignore - and it wasn't like he followed her there, which would have been creepy as hell, because he'd left the train first _and_ gotten here before she had. _But what if he thinks_ _ **I'm**_ _stalking_ _ **him**_ _?!_ She took a moment to collect herself, to come down off of whatever mad cloud she'd found herself on before she walked over to the till. The man behind the counter, Frank, had seen her a number of times during her writing trips to this particular Costa and smiled warmly at her. "Lily, right?" he asked, plucking a cup from the stack behind the pastry case and smiling at her. Lily nodded, "Yup! Hi, Frank, how are you?"

"Oh you know," Frank said with a wry smile, "the morning rush just died down, though, so you caught me in a better mood than I was an hour ago." Lily laughed. "The usual, then?" Frank asked, grabbing a pen out of his apron pocket and holding it over the side of the cup. Lily nodded, "Yeah, let's do English this time though."

"And plenty of room for milk," Frank said, scribbling frantically on the side of the cup. "Yes!" Lily said laughing, "You know how I get if I don't have enough milk in my tea." Frank nodded dramatically as though he'd seen Lily destroy any number of things in the name of _not enough room for the proper amount of milk_ before. "Anything to munch on today while you're here?"

Lily thought for a moment before someone spoke next to her, making her jump. "I'd recommend the blueberry scone myself." It was a rich, deep voice and, Lily crossed her fingers, when she turned to see who it belonged to, she found herself staring up at Super Fit himself. His black hair was still standing on end, but his glasses had been pushed back up the bridge of his nose and he was wearing the same smirk he'd thrown at her back on the platform in Holborn. She felt her breath catch in her throat as her eyes moved over his face, probably for way longer than was socially acceptable, before she cleared her throat and turned back to Frank, "I guess I'll be having a blueberry scone." Her voice sounded strange, rougher, but also a little higher than normal? _God, I'm pathetic. An attractive man talks to me and I completely fall apart at the seams._

She turned back to Super Fit to thank him, but when she looked round he was halfway towards the door, coffee in hand. So, against all better judgement, against what sane Lily Evans would normally have done, she did something drastic. She shouted at him.

"Oi!"

Super Fit started and turned around, and Lily flushed again. _This is a very, very stupid idea. But I've shouted at him now so._ "Uh…" Lily fiddled with one of the buttons on the front of her overcoat before smiling at him, "I just wanted to say thanks." He cocked his eyebrow at her. "For the scone recommendation," she clarified.

"Oh," he grinned, "Of course. Scone selection is really important business. I couldn't have you starting your day off with anything less than perfection." Lily laughed, "Oh, so the blueberry scone is perfection, huh?" Super Fit smirked, "Well, it comes as close as pastry can dare. Though don't tell my mates. I'm friends with a seriously devoted chocolate lover and I'm pretty sure he'd kill me with his bare hands if he found out I was out lobbying for blueberry scones."

They both laughed, "Do you make a habit of this? Advocating for blueberry scones all across London?" Super Fit chuckled, "No, but that would make for a really fun Saturday afternoon."

Lily grinned, "As long as your mates don't find out." Super Fit laughed and nodded, "Right. I do enjoy being alive, so I'd have to find some way to keep my plan under wraps."

"Well, I swear that I won't tell anyone." Lily smiled and Super Fit laughed, "Good. You're the first person I've ever tested my blueberry scone powers on, so I would definitely know it was you if word got out."

She was just about to respond with something cheeky, when - "Lily, tea's up!"

Lily hesitated for a moment, "Can you wait for a second?" she asked. Super Fit smiled the broadest smile yet and nodded. She flashed him a quick grin, turned to grab her tea and scone, before turning back to him. "I'm Lily by the way," she said, "In case you didn't already figure that out."

Super Fit laughed, "I pretty much figured when Frank yelled 'Lily' at you and you responded. I'm James. James Potter."

"Isn't it supposed to go 'Potter, James Potter'?" Lily cocked her eyebrow in amusement and James laughed, his deep, bright laugh echoing off the walls of the shop around them, "Good point, Lily. Lily… Lily what?" Lily grinned, "Evans. Lily Evans." James smirked, "Nice to meet you Evans Lily Evans."

She rolled her eyes, but she smiled all the same.

"This might sound weird," James said after a few beats, "but were you sitting across from me on the tube this morning?" "Yes!" Lily said, and then she realised that she sounded too enthusiastic and weirdly sure, so she checked it with, "I thought that was you! We were sitting across from each other on the Central and Piccadilly trains."

James grinned, "Yes! Okay, I thought I was going mad!" Lily laughed, "Me too! Well, okay, good, at least we learned we aren't nutters today." James laughed, "What a great way to start a day - we learned we aren't nutters and we both met very attractive people."

Lily flushed, _oh my god he just called me attractive,_ but she went with the cheeky reply instead of the weirdly fangirlly one that was trying to bubble out of her - "Oh, we did did we?"

"I know I did." James was smiling, but he was staring at her so intently that it was like he was burning holes through her skin. _Holy fuck._

"Look," James said, he tucked the parchment bag with his scone inside one of his jacket pockets before he rummaged around and pulled his mobile out of the other one, "I am really, really late for work because I'm an idiot and always insist on coming to this Costa even though it's a twenty minute walk back to the museum so - " James seemed to realise he was rambling and flushed before unlocking his mobile, "Anyway, Evans Lily Evans. I would… I would really like to see you again. If you're… if you're interested, maybe I could get your number?"

Lily grinned, "Well, I did meet a fairly attractive person this morning so I don't know… but I suppose I could see you, too." James laughed and handed her his mobile, the relief evident in his voice when he spoke, "Fairly? I only get fairly attractive?!"

Lily typed her number into his mobile and handed it back to him with a grin, "I can't give you too many compliments, Potter. They might go to your head."

James grinned and tapped quickly on his screen, "My mates will definitely appreciate you trying to keep my ego in check. Check your phone, Evans. See you later." He winked and walked out the door.

Lily took a deep, steadying breath and walked quickly across the shop back to her table. She nearly threw her tea and scone down onto the table before she thought better of it, and rifled through her bag frantically for her mobile. Annoyingly, she found it in the very bottom of her bag, lit up with a message from an unknown number.

 _You might think I'm only fairly attractive, but I think you're stunning. Dinner with me tonight? I can't wait longer than that before I see you again. x_


	2. Chapter 2

**This was** _ **supposed**_ **to just be a one-shot, but SOMEONE (professorriddikulus) convinced me to write more for this story. I have abandoned every multi-chap I've ever tried to write, but, in the spirit of challenging yourself… here we are. Also, professorriddikulus will literally never leave me alone, so I might as well.**

 **Disclaimer: yeah, yeah, yeah, we know**

* * *

Despite having what was easily the most exciting morning she'd had in years, Lily managed to actually have a very productive writing day. She tapped out a quick, cheeky reply ( _Of course you think I'm stunning - you don't seem like a man to ignore the truth. And yes - dinner tonight. Text after work and we'll figure out a place? x_ ), set her mobile on silent, stuffed it back down into her bag, and unearthed her laptop.

By the end of the day, she had spilled tea on herself no fewer than five times and had enough scone crumbs on her chest to feed a small navy, _but_ she'd also managed to finish drafting an entire chapter of her never-ending dissertation, so crumbs and tea stains be damned, it was worth it.

She ordered another cup of tea to go, rolling her eyes at Frank's smirks and teasing "Excited for your hot date later, Lily?", and buttoned her coat before trudging back out into the cold late afternoon air.

The morning was still, well, frankly, entirely unbelievable. She never chatted up men in coffee shops, never gave out her number, never agreed to go on a date the same day that she met a person, never did 90 fucking percent of the things that she'd apparently started doing after she noticed Super Fit, er… James, on the train. _I'll have to get out of the habit of calling him Super Fit._

Because London is perpetually grey and always, it seemed, on the verge of rain, Lily wasn't surprised when she felt a few light splatters on her cheeks before she trotted down the stairs of the station. Because she's an idiot, she had, of course, left her umbrella at home when she'd left the house that morning. If this continued, it would definitely be raining by the time she got back home, but at least her bag was waterproof. And, at least, it wasn't likely that she'd stumble out onto the Leytonstone high street drenched to the bone like some kind of pissed off ginger cat and find James staring at her, so it didn't much matter. _Though at the rate this day is going, would you honestly be surprised if he was somehow magically there?_

 _Well, fuck._

She walked through the station, doing her best to avoid walking into all the people around her, because _fuck, why are there so many people here this afternoon?!_ when she checked her watch and realised her second (though it's quite possible she's missing a few things) dumb move of the day - it was five o'clock and she was going to try and pass through central London to get home. _Fuck fuck fuck._

Telling herself that she would be fine if she managed to catch the very next train that left Earls Court, she walked swiftly through the station, grabbed the evening paper from the man standing near the information desk, and tapped her Oyster on the turnstile without stopping, before running down the escalator that took her back to the Piccadilly platform. _Damn, look at me looking like a proper Londoner today._

It was embarrassing to celebrate something as small as efficiently scanning her Oyster card, but being a graduate student had taught her that you better celebrate little victories because big ones (or, you know, even normal sized ones) are so bloody rare you won't be celebrating anything at all otherwise.

There was, by some bizarre miracle, a train just pulling in when she rounded the corner onto the platform, and, even more bizarrely, still some seats available in the centre of the train. That probably wouldn't be the case by the time she transferred at Holborn, so she sat down, placed her bag between her knees and looked up to check how many stops she had to go before she had to get off. _Nine. Okay._ She dropped her eyes down to the person sitting underneath the map, half expecting that James would be sitting there again, smirking at her, blueberry scone in hand.

To her disappointment, but not at all to her surprise, her eyes met a middle aged woman instead. Her eyes flickered up to meet Lily's and Lily flushed, embarrassed, before smiling awkwardly and opening the newspaper in her hand and hiding behind it. _Why,_ _ **why**_ _can't I ever just do something even vaguely normal? Maybe Petunia_ _ **was**_ _right all those years ago._

She rolled her eyes and, when she looked back down at the paper in her lap, decided that instead of spending her valuable energy on self-loathing, she would direct that energy towards loathing Nigel Farage instead. _Stupid prat._

The transfer at Holborn was a bit of a mess, especially as it was now at the height of rush hour, but she managed to get onto her next train without too much difficulty and was back in Leytonstone a little before 6pm. The streets were soaking wet, but, somehow, the rain had stopped during her commute. _How am I this fucking lucky today? Honestly!_

She stopped in Percy Ingle, her favourite bakery in Leytonstone, with just a few minutes to spare before they closed to grab a few iced buns (the absolute best things in the entire universe) and walked up the high street at a pace that was way, way faster than her usual one. She hadn't heard back from James yet, but she had no idea when he was going to text her about dinner, and she wanted to make sure that she had enough time to get ready _and,_ more importantly, to tell Marlene everything that had happened that morning. Marlene was never going to believe it, and that, for some reason, made Lily all that much more excited.

She barrelled through the bright red front door of her building, checked the mat for the post, and then walked quickly up the stairs. She normally made some kind of effort to be quiet when she was going up the stairs to her flat (the hall did echo quite a bit) but she couldn't be bothered today - she had an important story to tell and iced buns to eat.

"Marls?"

"Kitchen!"

Lily shut the door behind her, turned and walked down the narrow corridor of their flat into their sitting room, and dropped her keys in the bowl on the chest of drawers against the wall. "I bought iced buns!"

"Ohhh, yum! Percy Ingle?"

"Of course!"

Marlene walked out of the kitchen with two mugs of tea in hand and Lily groaned, reaching out and wrapping her cold hands around the warm mug. "You spoil me." Marlene rolled her eyes, "I just know how you get when you spend an entire day writing. The only way to calm you is by throwing tea in your general direction."

Lily scoffed and was about to protest, but Marlene raised her eyebrows and Lily fell silent, opting to take a long drag of her tea instead. Marlene was right anyway, so there was no point in arguing.

They sat down on their couch and Lily set the bag of iced buns between them, shoving half a bun in her mouth and leaning back on the couch with a moan. She swallowed an impossibly large bite of bun, "How are these always more delicious than I remember?" "Mhhm mh kun dum"

Lily sat up and quirked her eyebrow and Marlene laughed through her mouthful of bun. She held up a finger, chewed and said, "I don't know, we get them every day." Lily laughed and popped another bit of bun into her mouth, "True."

"So you'll never guess what happened today," Lily said, taking another sip of her tea. Marlene laughed, "What, you wrote another bajillion pages on some mad Frenchman?"

Lily rolled her eyes, "No!" Marlene raised her eyebrows and Lily sighed, "Okay, yes, I did finish my chapter on France, _but_ I meant something else."

Marlene sighed in relief and stuffed another iced bun into her mouth, "Thank fuck because, sorry Lils, but politics is _so bloody boring."_

"It is not! The rise of these far right movements - "

"Alright, alright, alright," Marlene waved her off, "But you were saying?" Marlene took another sip of her tea and looked at Lily expectantly.

"I met a man."

Marlene spit tea out of her mouth and Lily started howling with laughter. "Fucking hell, Lily!" Lily had tears streaming down her face as Marlene used the hem of her shirt to wipe the tea off her chin, "You could have waited until I swallowed, at least!"

Lily just laughed harder and Marlene groaned, "I really hate you sometimes."

Lily did her best to stifle her laughter and Marlene just glared at her. "Okay, okay, okay," Lily took a few deep breaths and Marlene stuff another bite into her mouth, "Whenever you're ready, by all fucking means."

Lily grinned, "But seriously. I met a man today. We're going on a date tonight."

"WHAT?!"

"I KNOW!"

"YOU!?"

"APPARENTLY!"

Marlene laughed, "He must have been some kind of god or something, you never talk to anyone." Lily sighed, "Oh my god, Marls, _you have no fucking idea._ He is… ugh. SO FIT."

"You're seeing him tonight?"

"He said he'd text me after work, but I haven't heard from him yet, so it's entirely possible that he's since changed his mind or something."

"Shut the fuck up, Lily, have you seen you?! He isn't going to change his mind." Lily rolled her eyes and Marlene shoved her shoulder lightly, "Don't make me kick your arse, Evans." Lily groaned, "Fine."

Marlene took another sip of tea, "Okay, tell me the whole story. I want all the details."

She launched into a fairly dramatic re-telling of the morning, complete with a few long meditations on how _bloody fucking fit_ he is. "Okay, Lils, I get it," Marlene said, laughing, after her third such description. Lily had fallen back onto the sofa cushions behind her, "He's just so GORGEOUS, Marls, I CANNOT. I ACTUALLY CAN. NOT."

She was just telling Marlene about how adorable he'd looked when he asked for her number when her mobile pinged from her bag. Marlene screeched, startled by the noise, "OH MY GOD, I BET THAT'S HIM!" Lily tried ( _tried_ ) to play it cool, but she skipped _just_ a bit when she hopped up from the sofa and ran across the room to dig her mobile out of her bag.

Lily tapped the unlock button and shrieked, "Oh my god, okay, it is him!"

"What did he say?!"

Lily darted back across the room and threw herself down on the couch next to Marlene.

 _Sorry, work ran late. Still up for dinner tonight? Say yes. x_

"OKAY, YOU'RE GOING TO DINNER, RIGHT?!"

"Did you not _hear_ my many rants about how attractive he is? OF COURSE I'M GOING!"

"Okay, so text him back already, he knows you read his message, what if he's sitting there waiting for your answer?!"

"I highly doubt he's - "

Marlene shot Lily a look and she broke off before Marlene smacked her. "Okay, what do we say?"

"I mean, that depends on how flirty you want to get, yeah?"

Lily groaned, "God, I'm so bad at this part. I just want to be like, 'Yes, where are we going to dinner, I'll meet you in an hour'."

"I mean…" Marlene laughed, "You could just say that."

"I know, but then what if he's expecting me to be like, super flirty, and then I'm not and I basically just send that BUSINESS TEXT and then he's disappointed and then he is like 'ew nevermind I actually just starting throwing up bye' and then he never talks to me again?!"

"You're _actually_ completely fucking mad."

"I KNOW! HELP ME!"

Marlene started laughing, clutching her stomach she was laughing so hard, and Lily stared daggers at her, "I'm glad you find my suffering so god damn amusing." Marlene rolled her eyes, "Oh relax you wank. I've just never seen you like this before! You're so cute, little Lily!"

Lily groaned, "Fuck off. But okay, fine, I can see your point. I'm being ridiculous. I'll just…"

She unlocked her mobile and tapped out a quick message, sending it before she thought too much about it and deleted it. She held up the message for Marlene to read.

 _Of course I'm up for dinner - where are we meeting? As for saying yes… ;)_

"LILY YOU FUCKING MINX!"

Lily laughed, a bright, nervous laughter that sent the two of them into fits of convulsive laughter. Her mobile pinged again, twice in rapid succession, and Lily's entire body went rigid. "OPEN IT YOU PRAT, GO ON!"

Lily unlocked her phone and her heart stopped before taking off again at breakneck speed, so fast that she thought it might just speed right out of her chest altogether.

 _Social Eating House? I can pick you up if you like._

 _I'll be thinking about that last bit all night. I can't wait to see you. x_

"LILY! OH MY FUCKING GOD!"

"I'M DYING. I AM ACTUALLY DYING."

"LA PETITE MORT!" Marlene said, laughing.

Lily flushed bright red, "OH MY GOD!"

"I hope you're saying that in a few hours time," Marlene said, winking at her. Lily groaned, "I hate you. I hate you so much I can't even begin to tell you how much I hate you."

"Whatever," Marlene said, grabbing Lily's hand and pulling her to standing before dragging her back up their narrow corridor to her room at the front of the flat, "Let's go get you dressed! Social Eating House is like… hip as fuck."

"Fuck." Lily was not prepared to be in a place surrounded by impossibly cool people.

"Oh shut up, I know what you're thinking, and _yes,_ you are good enough to go to dinner at this place. Now text that man back!"

"Gah!" Lily sat down on her bed and tapped out a quick message:

 _You don't have to pick me up. I'll meet you at the Oxford Circus tube station - 8?_

And, in an effort to keep things playful (and make the sexual tension all that much more intense) she sent a short follow up:

 _Hopefully we end the night with something else for you to think about. x_

Marlene screamed so loudly in her ear when Lily showed her the reply that her eardrum definitely burst.

* * *

An hour, a lot of fuss and prodding from Marlene later, Lily was walking back down the high street towards the Tube station. She'd hugged Marlene and, before she could invite herself along to spy and see the now infamous James Potter for herself, Lily darted out the door as quickly as the heeled boots Marlene had talked her into would allow.

" _You're so short, Lily, you're going to need these if you're going to be snogging him later!"_

Nearly all of Marlene's fashion choices had been, in some way, connected to snogging (or shagging or something between the two). Marlene had tried to talk her into a dress (" _Lily," she waggled her eyebrows suggestively, "think about how frisky you two could get at the table!")_ but Lily had drawn a hard line there because _winter_. She slid into her favourite black denim jeans over Marlene's protests and let her pick out a shirt and shoes to appease her. Hence the black ankle boots and the lacey emerald green top she was now sporting (" _The lace will give him just a hint, you know?! Make him want it even more!")_. The makeup had been even more of an argument, but Lily had finally, after Marlene threatened her with a mascara wand, sat down, shut up, and let Marlene work. She had to admit, Marlene had done a pretty nice job - she'd used just enough makeup to accentuate Lily's features without making it feel like she was wearing a mask of product… and thank god she hadn't gone overboard because Lily would literally never be able to recreate any kind of complicated look on her own due to a complete lack of skill and patience. Thankfully, she'd let Lily leave her hair down (" _I'll just touch up your waves and then you're good to go!"_ ) because otherwise there was literally no way that she was going to be on time for this date.

She walked down the ramp of the Tube station, the clacking of her heels echoing in the concrete tunnel, and she smiled in spite of herself. _Alright, fucking hell, Marlene was right. I feel like a fucking badass in these._ She pulled herself up to her full height and let her shoulders drop back. _Now all I have to do is stand like this the entire time and maybe I'll look more confident than I feel._

Luckily she didn't have to transfer trains, so when the train arrived, she settled into her seat near the window and pulled out her mobile. Marlene had told her that she should spend the commute trying to relax, but she didn't _have_ to tell Marlene that she was going to spend it working on an outline for her next dissertation chapter instead. She'd had a lot of ideas reading the newspaper that morning about her UK/Europe chapter and she needed to start sketching them out before she forgot. _I'm working on something hyper relevant right now._ It was a pathetic little chant, but it kept her going when she most wanted to quit… because in grad school, you're almost always on the verge of quitting.

A half an hour later, the train pulled into Oxford Circus and Lily walked swiftly through the crowded station, trying to figure out which exit she should head out. She tapped out a quick message on her mobile ( _Deciding which exit to take - where are you? x)_ and was surprised when her phone pinged back almost instantly: _At exit 7 x_

 _He must have been looking at his mobile._ It was embarrassing how fucking excited that made her. She tapped her Oyster on the turnstile and walked through the station to exit seven, climbing the stairs while butterflies wrecked havoc in her stomach.

She'd forgotten how fucking exhausting it can be climbing stairs in bloody heels, so she took a moment at the top to scan the street around her and look for James. _Holy mother fucking fuck._

He was standing just north, towards Oxford Street, mobile in hand but his gaze directed at the exit, waiting for her to appear. His hair, she noted with a smile, was still standing on end and she almost laughed when his hand jumped up and buried itself into his hair when he saw her. _No wonder it's always such a bloody mess._ He, too, was wearing dark jeans, and though his long coat was buttoned against the cold, she took the jeans as a good sign that she was dressed appropriately for wherever they were about to go to dinner.

He was gorgeous, of course he was bloody gorgeous, but the thing that really set her alight was the way that he'd looked when he saw her at the top of the stairs. His face had filled, instantly, with a broad, bright smile, he stuffed his mobile immediately into his pocket, and he made his way through the crowd towards her, his eyes trained on hers.

"Hey, Lily," he said, his face still stretched wide into a smile when he got to her. She smiled back, "Hey James."

"Now that we've got introductions out of the way," James said, laughing, "we could?" He tilted his head towards the street and Lily grinned, "Lead the way."

He looked like he couldn't tell what he was supposed to do with his body, whether he was supposed to take her hand or not, how close it was alright to stand. She didn't fucking know either, it wasn't like she did this often ( _ever_ ), but she knew that she wanted to stand as bloody close to him as was socially acceptable, so she walked as close to him as she dared. Their hands kept bumping into one another and she saw James look down at them a few times as though thinking about taking her hand, but he also seemed too… nervous ( _Am I reading him right? How in the fuck could this god damn GOD be nervous?! He's probably been on thousands of dates this week alone!_ ) to do anything about it.

After a few moments of walking like this, Lily took a deep breath, summoned what courage she had, and just reached out and took his hand. His fingers wound instantly through hers and he looked down at her and smiled, "I was... I'm glad you did that." Lily grinned back, her stomach butterflies now utterly destroying her insides, "I was thinking about it, so I figured I might as well go for it."

"God, my mates would take the mickey for _years_ if they knew how nervous I am right now," James said, smirking down at her. "You?!" Lily said, laughing, "Why are you nervous?!" James scoffed, "You're… well," he flushed and his free hand jumped to his hair again, "You're kind of perfect."

Lily laughed, "I'm just glad I'm finally on a date with a man that isn't taking me to Nando's, honestly. I'll get a good meal for once." He looked down at her, aghast, and she winked and nudged him in the ribs. "I figure if your mates aren't here to take the piss, I should at least make an effort."

"Oh my god," he took his hand from hers and wrapped his arm around her shoulders before burying her in his side and tickling her ribs while she laughed in protest, "You better apologise for that, Evans Lily Evans!" She was sure people were staring, but she couldn't have cared less. "Alright, alright!" she said, gasping for breath between laughs, "I'm sorry!"

His fingers stopped moving against her ribs at once and she leaned away, taking a few steps away from him, "I mean, I'm actually not sorry, but thanks for letting me up." "Oh!" He just laughed, reached out and took her hand, pulling her back to his side, "Between you, Sirius, and Remus, I'm a dead man." She quirked her eyebrow at him and he answered her unasked question, "My mates."

"Ah," she said, nodding, "You know, I'm surprised you're still alive. I was spreading news of your blueberry scone treachery all over the city today."

James gasped dramatically and let his free hand fly to his chest, "I knew I shouldn't have trusted you. I'd bet anything they're plotting my murder as we speak."

Lily laughed, 'Well, at least I get to see you your last night on Earth."

James smiled down at her, "I can't think of a better way to spend my last night alive."

They chatted the rest of the way to the restaurant, which was, as Marlene had told her while they were getting ready, as hip as could be. "You seriously think _I'm_ cool enough to be in this place?!" Lily asked, laughing as James held open the door for them to walk inside. James smirked, "I'm a huge science nerd. If I'm cool enough, you're cool enough."

Lily grinned, "Who said you were cool enough?" He laughed and wrapped his arm around her shoulder again, pressing her into his side.

She tried to ignore the electricity zinging through her body as they stood there waiting for the host to notice them. He finally looked up and James grinned, "We have a reservation, Potter, for two." _He made a reservation?! Damn, girl, you're moving up in the world._

The host scanned his list before nodding and grabbing two menus off the shelf, "Follow me."

The host led them to a table near the back of the restaurant where it was a bit quieter, though the music and crowd noise still made the air buzz with energy. The crowd here was young, cool, and relaxed, all things Lily never thought herself to be, but tonight, she supposed she was.

Their waiter came by and took their drinks (a gin and tonic for her, whiskey for him) and Lily laughed, "Whiskey?!" James shrugged, "What can I say? I've been friends with Remus for over two fucking decades now and he drinks whiskey like it's water. He's always had some in the flat and I guess it's rubbed off on me."

"So you live with him then?" Lily asked as she scanned her menu. "Well," James said, picking up his own and glancing at it quickly before setting it back down and looking at her, "I used to live with both Remus and Sirius, but they recently moved out."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Lily said, setting her menu down, but James just laughed, "Don't be. I love them but _bloody hell,_ I got tired of listening to the two of them fuck. It was cute when they were still in that will-they-won't-they phase, but when you walk in the flat to them going at it in the kitchen, it becomes substantially less cute."

Lily snorted, which made James laugh, "So how long have they been together then?" she asked. "Uh…" James thought for a moment, "a year now? Sirius is basically my adopted brother and Remus was our best friend at school. We met in primary school, went to university together, moved into a flat together straight out, the whole thing. They always had this tension between them, but they didn't act on it until a little over a year ago. It was in-fucking-sufferable. I kept telling Sirius to just go for it, but he was actually terrified that he liked someone for once, so he was useless."

Lily smiled and was about to reply when the waiter came back with their drinks and took their order. She took a sip of her gin and tonic and smiled at him, "Well, it seems to have worked out in the end if they're living together?" James grinned, "Yeah, it has. I'm dead chuffed for them."

They chatted all throughout dinner, the laughs and jokes flowing freely. She told him about her years spent abroad in Brussels while she worked on the early years of her PhD at Kent (" _You're studying comparative politics?! That is so bloody cool!"_ ), he told her about his work with the museum (" _You're a_ what _?!" "Researcher for the Diversity and Informatics division… basically, I'm doing big data stuff, but with… animals and whatnot." "That is unbelievably awesome."_ ), they chatted about their flatmates (or, in his case, former flatmates). Lily had never in her life been on a date, no, in any social situation, where conversation flowed this easily between her and another person. They shared stories, traded laughs, and she felt more comfortable with him than she had with anyone (besides Marlene) in a long, long time.

It was terrifying and exhilarating and nerve-wracking and brilliant all at once. And she loved it.

A few hours later, though it could have been days and she probably wouldn't have noticed, James paid the bill (after lots of protesting) and they walked back out into the night.

"I can't believe you didn't let me pay," Lily huffed, "This isn't the 60's, you know." James laughed and took her hand, "I know, and I didn't pay because I think that it's my job or something. I paid because you're a graduate student and I know how bloody poor I was when I was a graduate student, so I didn't want to saddle you with the bill from the expensive arse place that I picked." Lily sighed, she couldn't argue with that. "Fine, but next time I'm paying." James grinned at her, "So there's going to be a next time?"

She just shot him a look, "Of course there's going to be a next time, you prat."

James smiled so brightly she thought her heart was going to stop in her chest.

"So," Lily said, fiddling with the hem of her shirt, "how did you get here? I mean, how are you going home?" James waggled his eyebrows at her, "Trying to come home with me, Evans Lily Evans?"

Lily flushed and, though her mind started churning out _very_ tempting reasons as to why she should do just that, she shook her head, "I wish," it was true, "but I've got to work on this bloody chapter tomorrow. And I'm fairly sure you have work?"

James sighed and nodded, "Yes… lots of work tomorrow. Besides," he squeezed her hand and the butterflies began setting fires in her stomach, "I'd rather you come over when neither of us has to be anywhere for preferably the next two days. Then we'd have all the time in the world."

She wasn't breathing. She definitely wasn't breathing and she was going to pass out, crack her head, and die right there on the pavement.

James smirked at her and raised a cheeky eyebrow, "I take it you're interested in that suggestion, Evans?" Lily did her best to roll her eyes nonchalantly, "Only mildly, Potter." James laughed and pulled her hand so that she was closer to his side, "Whatever you say, love."

"But," he continued, grinning down at her, "I was just going to take the Tube home. I live in Stratford, so we could ride together?" Lily nodded and James continued, "I'd _like_ to take you back to your flat in Leytonstone, but I'm not sure if you'd... "

Lily laughed, "You can walk me to my door, if you'd like, James. You've already paid for dinner so we might as well make this a proper 60's themed date."

James laughed, "Well, I don't think 60's dates ended the way that I'm thinking about ending this one, but I guess we have to make sacrifices if we're going to do this accurately."

Lily bit her lip, "I suppose I could be persuaded to break tradition."

They walked back to the tube station, chatting about whatever popped into their heads. She learned that he had gone to graduate school straight out of university and, so, he wasn't actually older than she was, that he loved to eat all the chocolate Remus used to leave around their flat just to irritate him and that he now went over to theirs do to the same thing to see if he could get Sirius in trouble - he always succeeded. She told him that after the Brexit vote in June she decided to move to London to finish her dissertation because it made the most sense for her work, but that she missed Brussels every day, that she and Marlene had been friends since primary school and that they'd eaten an entire bag of iced buns while she told Marlene about him earlier that evening.

"So you went home and talked about me, eh?"

Lily groaned, "I didn't mean to tell you that." James laughed, "I think it's cute! Besides, I went over to Remus and Sirius' flat after work and talked about you." He flushed a little and Lily laughed, "Oh my god, okay, you did?! That makes me feel so much better. What did they say?!"

James sighed and ran his hand through his hair again. _He does that a lot._ "Well, Sirius spent about fifteen minutes trying to convince Remus that they should come to Oxford Street and spy on us, but it seems Remus won that argument. Or, if he didn't, they are much better at being creepy fucking stalkers than I expected them to be."

Lily laughed and thought about Marlene knowing full well that she would do the same bloody thing if she'd thought of it before Lily left, "Would they do that?!" James nodded, "Sirius would. He finds it unendingly amusing to torture me, and, well, pretty much anyone that he cares about. But he was also genuinely interested in seeing you."

Lily raised her eyebrow, "Oh?"

James flushed again and Lily smiled. "Well, they haven't... " he trailed off as they approached the tube station and turned to look at her, his free hand jumping to his hair again. "They just haven't seen me that excited about anyone in a really, really long time."

Her heart was definitely trying to escape her chest. It was hammering violently against her ribs and she could barely hear any of the street noise over the rush of blood in her ears and _holy fuck he likes me._ She raised her eyes to his and smiled, "Well, if it makes you feel better, I haven't been this excited about anyone in a long time either."

James grinned and turned to begin walking down the stairs of the tube station, "That's good to know."

They tapped their Oyster cards on the turnstile and climbed down the stairs towards the Central Line's eastbound platform and climbed on the first train that pulled up.

"Isn't this cute," James said, sitting down next to her in the small section of seats at the front of the train, "this is where it all began." Lily laughed, "You say that like we've been together for fifty years or something."

James grinned, "Hopefully we will be." Lily's goddamn throat closed up, so she just smiled in return.

They chatted about stupid things the whole ride back to Leytonstone, recounting tales, in James' case, fairly dramatic tales, of stupidity that usually involved their friends. "Sirius," James said, they were both gasping with breath from laughing, "fucking Sirius ended up on the roof without any clothes on! He had to sleep up there all night. Thankfully it was summer or the fucking git probably would have frozen to death up there." Lily was wiping tears from her eyes as they shook with laughter - neither of them noticed that the other passengers in their car were staring at them like they were high on drugs.

They got off the train in Leytonstone, laughing now about the time Lily and Marlene had decided it would be a good idea to dye their hair black during what was a very short-lived punk phase in sixth form. "My mum," Lily said, laughing, "was so pissed off, I thought she was going to kill me. My sister, too, oh my god, Marlene and I completely ruined her bed sheets with all the black dye!"

James laughed and reached up to twirl a piece of her bright red hair around his fingers, "Somehow, I can't see you with black hair." Lily laughed, "That's because it looked awful. I'm pale as _fuck_ and the black hair just…" she grimaced and James laughed.

"So, you have a sister?"

They walked out of the tunnel at the Tube station and headed up Church Lane towards the high street. Lily sighed, "I… well, technically, yes, I have a sister."

James raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean, technically?" Lily must have made a face because he quickly said, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

Lily shook her head, "No, it's alright. It's been… fuck… ten years now?" She thought for a moment, "Yeah, ten years."

She sighed and James squeezed her hand. She smiled up at him briefly before continuing, "I was getting ready to go to university and Petunia, my sister, was getting ready to marry this truly _horrid_ man. It's a long story, actually, and I'm not really even sure _what_ in the fuck actually happened, but it ended up being a 'Lily is intentionally going to university far away so that she'll get all the attention on the week that is supposed to be the week of my wedding and she never liked my husband anyway and you're a horrible sister' thing."

"How could she - "

Lily laughed bitterly, "Oh, with Petunia, pretty much everything you did was done to spite her. I didn't choose to go to uni at St Andrews because it was one of the best International Relations programmes in the country, I chose it because it would interfere with her wedding. I didn't decide that I hate Veron because he's a fucking wankstain, I hate him because I'm just jealous that I can't find a man and deep down I want everyone to be as miserable as I am. It's all so fucking ridiculous, I'm glad to be done with her, honestly."

James sighed and took his hand from hers and wrapped it around her shoulder, "I know," he said, "but still… that… sucks." He groaned at his lackluster description, but Lily laughed, "Yes, James. Yes it does."

"Do you have any siblings," Lily asked as they turned onto the high street. They were so close to her flat now, maybe five minutes if they walked really, really slowly, but she didn't want this night to end. She wasn't ready for it to end.

James smiled, "My parents were really, really old when I was born, so I don't have any biological siblings. I was considered their _miracle child_ and I got all the attention until bloody Sirius came along and stole my spotlight." He laughed as he said it and Lily just grinned, "When did your parents adopt him?"

"Well," James' hand roughed up his hair again, "they never formally adopted him because he was pretty old when he finally moved in with us. Sirius, Remus, and I have been friends since our first year in primary school, but Sirius didn't move in with my family until… mid-way through year 11? Yeah, it was right before GCSEs actually."

She wanted to ask, but it also wasn't James' place to tell her, so she just said, "I'm glad that he had your family. I can't imagine his home life was very good if he needed to move out to escape it." James frowned, "Yeah, it was… it was fucking awful. I'm not sure he would have survived it if he'd stayed."

They walked quietly for a few moments up the street before James turned to smile at her, "Well, now that we've managed to thoroughly upset ourselves," Lily laughed lightly - it sounded more like a breath being forced out of her than a laugh - and the tension broke between them. "So why did you decide to live in Leytonstone?"

Lily laughed, "Honestly? It was the only place Marlene and I could bloody afford when we were looking for flats. Plus I always did like idea of living in 'gritty East London,' though," she gestured at the quiet high street, "this is hardly what I imagined. Though my only experience with East London before I moved here were old novels that always made it seem like some underground, outside the law hellscape." Lily laughed, "I'm not sure why I found that attractive, now that I think about it."

James laughed, "You must be more of a rebel than you give yourself credit for, Evans." He smiled, "That's why we decided to live in Stratford, too, actually. And then they brought the Olympics in and effectively ruined that for us."

Lily sighed, "You can't have everything I guess. You get to live in London at a fairly decent price, you get to meet beautiful women on the Tube, but you can't have those and live in the rough East London of your dreams." James laughed, "I've only ever met _one_ beautiful woman on the Tube, thank you." Lily scoffed and nudged him in the ribs with her elbow.

They walked quietly for a few moments before Lily saw the red door of her building and sighed, "This is me." James frowned a comically ridiculous frown and Lily laughed, "I know!"

They came to a stop in front of her door and James moved his arm from around her shoulders, trailing his fingers down her arm before taking her hand. He hadn't even touched her skin, she was wearing a _coat_ for fucks sake, but the move sent chills down her spine all the same.

"When can I see you again?"

His voice had taken on this deep, almost gravelly quality that made her weak in the knees. "I'm tempted to say tomorrow, but I think that breaks some kind of dating rule." Her voice turned back into that weirdly rough, high pitched monstrosity it had earlier that morning when he'd given her a scone recommendation.

His eyes were moving slowly over her, tracing the lines of her face before moving slowly, _holy fuck,_ down her body and he stepped closer. She could see him reading her body as he moved, trying to decide what was enough, trying to find the line, but if he'd noticed the way that her breath caught in her throat, the way she had shifted herself closer to him, he would have realised that the line was rapidly disappearing. Which was good, _great_ , but also bad, very bad, because they were in public and she did have to continue to live here, so shagging a man out in the middle of the street (because snogging no longer seemed like enough, thank you very much) was probably a very, very bad idea if she ever wanted to be able to face her neighbours again.

He moved his other hand under her unbuttoned coat to her waist, his fingers tracing the bit of skin that had become visible where her shirt had ridden up, "Rules are for twats." Lily laughed and tried not to obsess about the fact that this laugh was breathy and ridiculous sounding, "That's a good point."

"Are you going back to Costa tomorrow?" James asked, moving his other hand from hers and placing it on her other hip. She moved her hands to the front of his coat, grabbing hold of the fabric near the top button he'd neglected to fasten after they got off the train. She nodded, "Yeah, I was going to go at the same time."

"Great," James said, "would you be," he cleared his throat, "opposed to seeing me on the train tomorrow? And walking with me to get coffee? Then it's not really a date so we don't have to worry about the date police catching up with us." Lily laughed again and stepped closer to him, the edges of her coat brushing against his thighs. She looked down to check the distance between them, one of his hands moved to the small of her back, and her eyes snapped back to his.

"Lily, can I -"

She didn't wait for him to finish. Her body might actually be on fire, and he didn't need to ask her because _oh my god_ every part of her body was begging him to do something, anything. She stepped forward, moved her hands from the lapels of his jacket into his hair, his unbelievably soft hair, and pulled his mouth to hers.

She could have died, actually died and gone to wherever the fuck right there on that sidewalk and she wouldn't have noticed.

He responded instantly - the hand on the small of her back pressed her closer so that her body was flush against his, the hand that had been resting on her hip moved up and tangled in her hair. Her blood was racing through her veins, her body on fire with sensation and there were too many things to feel them all at once and together they were threatening to drive her truly, truly mad. His hands were barely even moving, but the subtle pressure of the rough pads of his fingers against her spine was making her head spin. She'd tried to control it, but a groan escaped her throat before she'd had any say in the matter and he smiled against her lips before tracing his tongue over her bottom lip and making her groan again.

Determined to exact some kind of revenge, she bit down lightly on his bottom lip and smiled when he groaned into her mouth. He broke the kiss and pressed his forehead to hers, "Proud of yourself, Evans?" He pressed his hips against hers and her breath caught in her throat. "Yes," she said, the cheekiness of the reply slightly hampered by the fact that she was threading her fingers through his hair and brushing her hips against his. He groaned again and she laughed before he pressed a swift kiss to her lips, "You're going to kill me." She winked, "That's the idea."

James huffed but she just laughed and stood on her toes to press another kiss to his lips, this one a bit slower, a bit more controlled than the last one, but just barely. They were just kissing, _just kissing,_ but the thrill of something more, the potential of what was building between them was making her hands shake. _If this is what kissing him is like…. Holy. Fucking. God the rest might literally kill me._

She broke the kiss and he pulled back just enough to let his eyes move over her face again. They were amber fire and they were scorching every bloody part of her. "You're… god, you're stunning. You know that?" She flushed, "Stop,"

"No, Lily, I'm serious," the hand that was on her back moved to her hip, his thumb brushing against the skin that was now exposed there, "You are… astonishing."

Lily grinned, and let her hands fall out of his hair back down to his lapels, "You're pretty phenomenal yourself."

He looked at her a moment longer, his gaze melting her into a puddle ( _literally_ ), before he pressed another swift kiss to her lips and straightened up. "I have to go or I'm never going to leave," he said, laughing. She grinned, "I would just say fuck it and invite you up, but we've already set a date."

James' eyes smouldered, he moved his hand back to the small of her back, pressed her against him again, "And like I said earlier, I'm going to need _a lot_ of time, so tonight just won't work."

Her chest was heaving as her lungs tried desperately to pump enough oxygen into her dead brain to formulate a response, but she couldn't wait long enough to give her brain time to come up with anything, so she moved one hand from his lapel and kissed him again. She moved backwards just a bit, pulling him along by his jacket, until her back hit the wall. James, realising what she was doing, moaned into her mouth and deepened the kiss, his hands brushing her sides and making her seriously consider abandoning all sense of propriety and just going for it already, who cares that they're outside, she could be an exhibitionist.

"Okay, okay, okay," James broke the kiss and moved to her jaw, his breath shallow and fast, "I should… unless you want to… I should…" How he was kissing her and trying to convince himself to leave, she didn't know. She groaned, arched her neck, and James took the hint, moving his mouth to her throat. He had to feel her pulse, had to know how fucking hard her heart was working to keep her alive, had to understand just how much control she was exercising to keep from jumping him in the middle of the street. He found a particularly sensitive spot just underneath her ear and her body shuddered, she tightened her grip on his coat, pulled him closer.

"Okay, _okay,_ fuck," James took a deep breath and moved away, "I have to…" Lily frowned, but nodded, "Yeah… yeah, okay."

"It's not that I don't want to," he said, his eyes burning into hers, " _believe me."_ Lily raised her eyebrow and pressed her hips against his - he visibly stifled a groan and she smirked, "Oh, I believe you."

He looked like he wanted to kiss her again, but he seemed to think better of it and moved his hands from her back instead, letting one hand fall back to his side while the other grasped hers. "Lily, I…" he thought for a moment and she could practically see the cogs turning in his brain, "I had the _best_ time. Seriously." She smiled, "I did too, though I think that goes without saying." She glanced down significantly towards his hips and he laughed, squeezed her hand.

"I wish I didn't have to go," he said, his thumb brushing lightly against the side of her hand, "but if I don't go now, I will never leave." She laughed, "I know. And I also wouldn't be surprised if Marlene is watching us out my window right now."

James quirked his eyebrow and Lily laughed and pointed to the window directly over their heads, "That's my room."

The reminder that her room was that close, that they could just as easily give up on this whole 'not falling into bed right now,' thing seemed to give him pause for just a moment before he sighed, "As tempting as I find this…" he smiled and Lily's heart picked up speed again, "I did make some pretty big promises and I'd like time to live up to them." Lily laughed, "Fair enough."

"I'll text you tomorrow morning?"

Lily nodded, "Okay - I usually catch the 8 o'clock train, is that enough time for you to get to work?" James grinned, "I'm the head researcher, I can be late if I want."

Lily shook her head and rolled her eyes, "You can't be late to work because of me, Potter." James smirked, "I can do whatever I want, Evans Lily Evans." She rolled her eyes again, but the stupid smile on her face killed the power of it.

He laughed, "Nice try, I know you find me charming." Lily sighed, "Only a little bit."

He grinned, "I'll take it." She rolled her eyes again, "I thought you were leaving!"

James sighed, "Right, alright, I'm leaving." He leaned down and pressed one final, swift kiss to her lips before he straightened up and let go of her hand, "I'll see you." She smiled, "See you."

She watched him walk down the street, trying to settle her breathing, and when he got about halfway down the small hill that led to her building, she unlocked her door and practically fell over the threshold.

She darted, as quietly as she could manage, up the stairs and unlocked her door, expecting Marlene to be asleep, but Marlene was standing in the doorway of her room when Lily opened the door. Her room was directly opposite the door into their flat, so Marlene just flapped her arms like a lunatic until Lily shut the door. "OH MY GOD, YOU'RE BACK SO LATE! AND LOOK AT YOU, YOU'RE ALL RED, TELL ME EVERYTHING!"

Lily laughed and hung her coat up on the rack in the corridor, "I would if you would let me get a word in edgewise."

"OKAY OKAY OKAY, I'LL GO PUT THE KETTLE ON!"

Marlene ran from her room and down the two small stairs into their living room, before darting into the kitchen while Lily walked into her room and sat down onto her bed to kick her boots off. Her mobile pinged from her bag and, stupid smile on her face, opened her purse to dig it out.

 _I will never, ever forget that kiss. See you tomorrow x_


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: blah blah blah not mine who cares OKAY, LET'S DO THIS**

* * *

They saw each other every morning that week.

Lily would skip out of her flat every morning at quarter til (after telling a laughing Marlene to fuck off) and catch the 8 o'clock train into central London. She was all smiles, sickening, new love smiles, at about 8:10 when James boarded in Stratford - they chatted, laughed, held hands, and did their best to avoid overt groping the whole ride to Earl's Court. They got tea, flirted shamelessly, he kissed her goodbye, and she told Frank (who, by now, was laughing and repeating some of their saucier lines to spite her) to go fuck himself before setting up in the corner with her laptop and typing furiously all day.

For someone who was so god damned preoccupied, she was being surprisingly productive. Her France chapter was waiting patiently in her advisor's inbox, she'd started pulling together some outlines and research avenues for her UK chapter, and, on Friday, she'd started writing. She had, quite literally, never worked that quickly in her entire life.

Maybe it had something to do with the intensely motivating reward system she'd set up for herself (and talked James into agreeing to)… no one could say for sure (she earned anything from a chaste kiss to total nudity depending on how much she accomplished on a particular day - somehow, she was always closer to the 'total nudity' part of the spectrum).

It went this way for about a month - and then she met Sirius.

It was seven in the morning on Saturday and they'd been up _late_ the night before. She was nestled in what had rapidly become her favourite spot - tucked under James' arm, her nose buried in his chest. He was warm and smelled amazing and she had never slept this well in her life and leaving that spot took a lot of convincing. Or food. Or tea. Preferably both food _and_ tea.

She felt a weight settle onto the end of the mattress near her feet and she shifted a bit, thinking in her half-asleep brain that it was just James moving around (because even in sleep he was a fidgety son of a bitch) - the movement shook James out of sleep, he screamed, and nearly scared the shit out of her.

"SIRIUS! What the _fuck_ are you doing here?!"

James pulled the blankets up higher around them and Lily rolled off James' chest and propped herself up onto her elbow to see who in the _bloody fuck_ James was talking to.

This man, 'Sirius,' apparently, was bloody gorgeous. You could tell, just by looking at him, that he knew it. His shoulder length black hair was carefully unkempt and his steel grey eyes were shining with amusement and mischief. He was wearing a well-worn leather jacket and black skinny jeans with holes in, his tattered trainers were kicked up onto the footboard of James' bed and he had a saucy grin plastered on his face. As she came to, she realised that this was the exact face he was making in every picture Lily had seen around the flat.

"Is that any way to greet your brother, mate?" Sirius leaned to the side, propping himself up with an outstretched arm and smiled, though how he managed to lounge so casually in jeans that might as well have been a second skin Lily didn't know. James groaned, "Fuck off, Pads. _What are you doing here?_ " His voice was still scratchy from sleep in that devastatingly sexy way, and Lily wanted very much for Sirius to leave so she could capitalise on this.

Sirius smirked at her, "I wanted to see if your lovely Lily was here -"

Lily smiled but James was less than amused, "SO YOU JUST BARGED INTO MY FLAT?!"

Sirius sighed and flicked his hair over his shoulder, "Formerly _our_ flat, Prongsie. And I hardly 'barged' - I have keys." His accent was aristocratic, but his tone was light, sarcastic, and gave the impression that he was always _just_ on the verge of laughter. Lily recognised some of that in James' voice (he, too, had a fairly aristocratic accent), but Sirius' tone was just a bit more… refined. It was a stark contrast against the clothes and the rest of the way he presented himself, and it made him all the more intriguing.

James sighed, " _Formerly_ being the operative word there."

Sirius laughed and waved it off, "Semantics."

James fell back onto the pillow, exasperated, and Lily laughed, "You two are ridiculous."

Sirius grinned, "That we are, love." He held out his hand, "Sirius Black. I'm sure my lovely brother here has told you _all_ about me." Lily laughed and pulled her arm out from under the blankets to shake Sirius' hand. "I only heard the bit about you and Remus fucking in the kitchen, actually."

Sirius gasped and turned to James, "That's _all?!"_

James sighed, but Lily smirked and nodded significantly towards their (completely naked) bodies under the duvet, "Well, we've been rather busy." Sirius roared with laughter, "Fuck, I'm glad you're as great as James said you were."

James groaned and threw his arm over his eyes, and Sirius grinned at Lily, "Anyway, there are so many things he left out about us. We'll have to get lunch sometime. I can catch you up on _so much_ about James."

"Padfoot, are you _trying_ to kill me?!" James' voice was slightly muffled under his arm, but the pain in his voice was evident, "Don't scare her off before I get the chance to show her how wonderful I am."

Sirius laughed - his laugh was loud and barklike, and Lily found it endlessly amusing and, strangely, endearing, "Mate, if she's in this state of undress and she doesn't _already_ know you're amazing, I'd say there's very little I can do to hurt your chances."

James pulled the pillow out from under his head and threw it at Sirius - Sirius just laughed again and shot Lily a wink. Soon they were both laughing and James turned to look at her, "You're already betraying me." She rolled her eyes, "Don't be so bloody dramatic, James."

"Yeah, James," Sirius said, the barely suppressed laughter leaching through in his voice, "Don't be so bloody dramatic." James groaned again, "I hate you both _so much."_

Lily leaned over so her eyes found his, "No you don't," and kissed him. She felt him smile against her lips and his hand moved to her thigh under the duvet.

Sirius cleared his throat, "While I'm normally all up for sexual adventures, watching you two fuck isn't something I think I'd enjoy getting my rocks off too."

Lily laughed and pressed one final kiss to James' lips before falling back down onto his chest - when his fingers began tracing patterns on her hip, it became almost impossible to concentrate on the fact that someone, someone she had just met and would very much like to make a good impression on _,_ was sitting at the foot of the bed.

Luckily, James started talking and gave her something else to focus on. "Why are you up this early anyway? You're _never_ up at this hour."

Sirius sighed, "Remus got back from the hospital at 6 this morning and woke me up when he got into bed. I think he was _trying_ to be quiet, but you know how he gets when he's just in a rush to get to bed already."

James chuckled, his chest vibrating against hers, and nodded, "Oh my god, I know. He's like a fucking wrecking ball." Sirius nodded, "Exactly. So, anyway, he got home and once he woke me up, I couldn't get back to sleep. But I'm loud as fuck -"

James groaned, " _I remember_."

Sirius rolled his eyes, "So, I decided to just get up for the day and let him get some sleep. He's got another surgery this afternoon, actually, so I'm surprised he came home and didn't just crash in the on-call room or something."

"And so you came here?"

Sirius quirked an eyebrow, "Well, where else am I supposed to go?"

James sighed, "Couldn't you go to the garage or something? Surely you have some… I don't know, Ducati or something to look at."

Sirius smirked, "Are you only saying Ducati because it's the only motorcycle brand that you know?"

James shrugged his shoulders as best he could with Lily lying on one of them and Sirius laughed, "Well, you're in luck, actually, because I just got a '75 900SS that I'm working on right now. And _yes,_ I could have gone there, but I didn't. I wanted to come here and - "

"Torture us instead."

Sirius laughed, "See if Lily was here. Meet her, see if she's as _wonderful_ as you say."

Lily laughed and sat up a bit so she was leaning over him again, "Oh?" James' cheeks flushed, "I might talk about you a bit."

Sirius laughed, "A BIT?! Come off it, Prongs, you talk about Lily constantly," he turned towards Lily, a look of exaggerated annoyance on his face, "None of us can get a word in edgewise. He only ever talks about you now."

James pulled his left hand out from under the blankets and gave Sirius the finger. Sirius just grinned in response and Lily had the distinct feeling that this was a fairly average occurrence.

"So," Sirius said, turning his gaze back to Lily's and smiling, a bit more warmly she noted, "when are you free for lunch?" She saw James watching Sirius out of the corner of her eye - his look was suddenly more intense, but Lily couldn't quite place it.

"We could go today!" The rapidity of her answer surprised them all, but she was excited. She wanted to get to know Sirius, to learn more about him and, by extension, James. They were brothers and best mates and, surprisingly, she already liked him. He was a bit more aloof than she thought he might have been based on the way James had talked about him, but maybe he just took time to warm up. Even still, he wasn't making her feel awkward, a feat considering her fantastic state of undress, and he was making her laugh.

Sirius grinned, "I _am_ free today…" His eyes flicked briefly towards James and Lily saw his smile get wider. He was clearly enjoying this… whatever _this_ was.

James frowned, rolled onto his side and pressed his lips to her throat, "But, Lily," he was breathing the words into her skin and it sent a chill down her spine, "I thought we were going to spend the day in _bed_ …"

Lily moved just far enough away from James so that she could see his entire face. He smiled wickedly, thinking he'd won. Lily grinned, "We were… but I've had a better offer."

She winked, Sirius roared with laughter, and James buried his head under the duvet.

* * *

Sirius had given Lily his mobile number before he left, and she tapped out a quick message to him while she pulled on her boots. _I'll take the tube - should be there in 50min x_

"You're _really_ going to go to lunch with my lunatic brother on your own?" James tried to sound light, but she knew he was tense. He seemed… nervous about this whole thing and she wasn't quite sure why.

"Do you not want me to go?" She didn't _care_ really - she was going to go whether he wanted her to or not. But this was not going to become a _thing._ Lily fucking Evans doesn't take _orders._

"No," he sighed, his voice was soft and he sounded earnest, "I do, I really, genuinely do. I just… Sirius… it's hard to explain."

Her mobile pinged, and she pulled it back out of her pocket. _Don't be ridiculous. I'm picking you up_

"Oh," Lily stuffed her mobile back into her pocket and smiled at James, "He's picking me up."

James froze, "He's _what?_ "

She shrugged, pulled her mobile out of her pocket, and tossed it to James. "Read it. He just said that he's picking me up."

James unlocked her phone and stared at the screen before groaning and handing it back to her, "He's going to take you on the bike. He's going to _take you on the fucking motorbike_ and I'm going to have a fucking stroke. AND THE ONLY DOCTOR I KNOW IS CURRENTLY ASLEEP AND DOESN'T EVEN OPERATE ON ADULT SIZED THINGS."

She was genuinely surprised that his hair was still attached to his scalp with all the pacing and hair pulling he was currently engaging in.

"James," Lily had her 'no-nonsense mum voice' (as Marlene always called it) on and James' eyes snapped up to hers - she'd never had to use it on him before, "Chill the fuck out. It's just lunch. He's _your_ brother. I _want_ to get to know him. He means a lot to you and, honestly, he seems bloody hilarious. We'll have a great time. And you have research to do anyway, so focus on that and I'll be back before you know it."

His hands fell from his hair and he immediately reached out and grasped her hips, pulling them closer together. She laughed, "You can't use sex to distract me, James!" He grinned and pressed a swift kiss to her lips, "Unfortunately, that's not the plan."

Lily cocked her eyebrow in response and James sighed, "The thing is…"

He took a moment, cleared his throat. Lily waited (somewhat) patiently.

"The thing is," he continued, his fingers working their way underneath the hem of her jumper, "Sirius has never asked my girlfriend…" he hesitated, his eyes moving rapidly over her face, gauging her reaction (Lily had broken out into a ridiculously stupid smile and James grinned, letting out a breath before continuing), "out to lunch. Literally _never._ And he's fiercely protective of his friends so _god fucking knows_ what he's going to do. So part of this is that I have no clue what to expect and, as you'll soon discover, Sirius is… rather unpredictable _generally_. So that makes me more nervous."

Lily grinned - Sirius did seem the unpredictable type.

"But the worst part," James said, stepping closer to her, letting his hips press lightly against hers, "is that every other woman I've ever seen has practically run away screaming after meeting my mates for the first time. And Lily I…"

His hesitation hung between them and sent a thrill through her gut. _Holy fuck holy fuck holy fuck_

"I really, _really_ like you. A lot. And I know it hasn't been, you know, that long, but I really don't want… I don't want to fuck this up. But Sirius' opinion also means the fucking world to me, so I'm really hoping he likes you and I'm just -"

"A ball of feelings?" Lily suggested, her lips threatening to curve into a smile.

James breathed a sigh of relief that sounded a bit like a laugh, "Yes. A ball of feelings."

Lily reached up and weaved her fingers into the hair at the base of his neck, "Haven't you known me long enough to know that I can hold my own, Potter?" James smiled, leaned forward, pressed his forehead to hers, "Damn right you do."

She grinned, "Alright then. Stop worrying. He would have to _literally_ set me on fire at the table to convince me I should leave you."

James smirked and cocked his eyebrow, "Oh?"

She smacked his chest playfully, "Yes, you git. I really, _really_ like you, too. You think some motorbike riding, skinny jean wearing rebel is going to change that?"

Her mobile pinged and she pressed a lingering kiss to his lips before she dug the mobile out of her back pocket. _Outside - stop boning and get down here. Bring James - can't wait to see the look on that knob's face ;)_

As James had predicted, Sirius was leaning up against a shiny bronze motorbike, two helmets cradled in his arm and a satisfied smirk playing on his lips. James frowned, "Sirius, you're trying to fucking kill me aren't you?"

Sirius' grin only got wider, "Now, James," he drug out his name in such an impossibly, sickeningly posh way that it made Lily laugh. He shot her a wink before continuing, "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean. I simply want to take Ms Lily to lunch on this _beautiful_ '99 GSX 1300R." His tone was achingly posh now and Lily was barely keeping herself together. _What kind of posh fucker talks about motorbikes? Honestly._

James sighed, "I can't talk to you when you're like this. Just… please for the love of god, Sirius, bring her back in one god damn piece."

Sirius grinned and handed Lily a helmet, "I think you mean for the love of the _Queen,_ James." James shoved Sirius in the chest, "I'm serious." Sirius opened his mouth to reply but James groaned, "Don't!"

Sirius sighed dramatically and turned towards Lily, "He always squashes my fun."

Lily grinned before turning towards James, "Honestly, James, relax. I'm not going to die in some fucking accident and Sirius isn't going to corrupt me or convince me that I can't possibly stand you. Go upstairs and read about your animals."

"I know, I know." He kissed her and she smiled against his lips.

"James, you're going to make us miss our reservation!" Sirius was tapping his foot impatiently behind them and James pulled away from Lily and laughed, "You? _You_ made a reservation?!"

"Of course I did," Sirius said, flicking his hair over his shoulder like he had that morning, "Do you think I'm some kind of animal?"

"Well, actually," James smirked and Sirius groaned, shoving James in the chest. James laughed, grabbed Sirius and tucked him under his arm, and the two of them started laughing like children while Sirius struggled to get loose from James' grip.

 _Un-fucking-believable. They're children. Actually grown up children._

Sirius finally pulled himself out from under James' arm and shoved James in the chest again (they were still laughing like madmen), "You're lucky Lily's here, mate, I don't want to hand you your arse in front of your girlfriend." James laughed and wrapped his arm around Sirius' shoulders and pulled him in for a hug, "Fuck off, you bellend, you know I can still kick your arse."

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Prongs." He stepped away from James and grinned at Lily, "Ready?"

Lily nodded and slid the helmet down onto her head. Sirius smirked at James before turning back to her, "Brilliant."

Sirius climbed onto the bike and scooted forward to make sure that Lily had enough room to sit behind him. She climbed, a bit unsteadily, onto the bike. "Keep your leg away from that pipe, love," Sirius said, pointing towards the large pipe near where her leg was currently dangling, "Or you'll get a royal fucking burn."

Lily gulped but tried to keep the nerves out of her voice, "Good to know."

She could practically _feel_ Sirius' smirk. Sirius turned the key and the bike kicked to life underneath them - it was louder and… rumblier… than she'd ever thought that a bike would be, and her arms flew around Sirius' waist instinctively. He reached down between them, surprisingly, and patted her hands before moving his hands up to the handlebar. He turned to James, revved the engine (Lily saw him shake his head disbelievingly at Sirius) before Sirius gave James a salute and they took off down the street.

She could tell that he was being a bit more… reserved… than he otherwise would have been, and Lily was definitely (insanely) grateful. It was her first time on a bike and, though Sirius was still going as fast as he dared, she was sure that he normally went loads faster.

It took her a minute to get adjusted to the feeling of having nothing around her, the rush of the wind in her hair and on her cheeks, to just how biting the cold was when it worked its way into her coat and down the collar of her jumper. But once she'd relaxed (and felt comfortable enough to start moving her head a bit to look around them), she could see why Sirius liked this so much. The rush of the wind was exhilarating, you could see so much more of the street when you drove by, the idea that at any moment you could become road pizza was, okay, terrifying, but also _thrilling_.

She told him as much when he parked the bike in Notting Hill.

She practically ripped the helmet off her head, her face flush with a combination of cold and excitement, "THAT WAS FUCKING BRILLIANT!" Sirius laughed, "Oh god, now James really is going to kill me."

Lily laughed, stuffed her helmet under her arm, and hooked her other arm through Sirius', "I don't even care! James can shove it, that was _amazing_."

Sirius grinned, "I always thought so. I started riding because it pissed my parents off, but I stayed with it because it is just… well, to use your words, fucking brilliant." Lily laughed, "I am rather eloquent, aren't I?" Sirius bumped his hip against hers, "That you are, Lils."

They walked a few blocks over to a small restaurant and, when they walked in, Lily couldn't help but laugh. Sirius raised an enquiring eyebrow as they sat at their table in the corner. "I'm sorry," Lily said, waving her hand in front of her face in an effort to stop laughing, "Books for Cooks is just… _literally_ the last restaurant in London I would have pictured you at."

Sirius laughed, "I know, but it is _someone's_ favourite and I had to agree to go here if he was going to drag himself out of bed." Lily raised her eyebrows and Sirius grinned, pulled his mobile out of his pocket to check it, "He'll be here in a minute, he got stuck on the tube."

The chatted aimlessly for a few minutes and had just ordered a pot of tea when the bell on the door rang and Sirius smiled broadly. Lily turned in her seat and had to fight to keep her jaw from hitting the floor. She instantly recognised him from the many, _many_ pictures that filled the walls and available surfaces of James' flat. _How are they all this bloody attractive? It should actually be illegal for this many attractive men to know each other._

Remus was tall, taller than she'd imagined - he never looked that much taller than James in pictures, but she saw now that he was easily a few centimetres taller than James and Sirius. Those two were a bit broader though, their shoulders a bit wider, and they looked… _solid…_ Remus was a fucking rail - a tall, willowy beanpole. His sandy hair was cropped fairly short and looked as though he'd taken pains to make sure that it was neat, and would remain so even in the midst of the mad March wind blowing outside. He was wearing a long wool jacket, much like the one James owned (and she loved), but she could see the collar of his doctor's coat underneath and just the _hint_ of a tie at his throat.

Despite having been woken up by a (probably) very insistent Sirius only a few hours before, he smiled warmly, genuinely, at Lily the moment he saw her and extended his hand, "I'm Remus. It's lovely to meet you, Lily." His features were soft and open, not at all how she'd expected him to be judging by the dark circles under his exhausted eyes.

All in all, he was Sirius Black's complete fucking opposite.

Lily smiled back, "I'm so happy to be meeting you, too, Remus." He grinned and dropped her hand before turning to Sirius, "I'm glad you held up your end of the bargain, Pads," and dropped a kiss on his lips. Sirius rolled his eyes, "Anything to get you out of bed, Moons."

"That's funny," Remus said, sitting down at the chair between them, "usually it's the opposite with you." Remus smiled at Lily and she laughed.

"So, Lily," Remus said, nodding his thanks at the waiter as he set a pot of tea in the centre of the table, "you met James on the tube?" He quirked his eyebrow, amused, and Lily laughed, "Yeah, we were riding the Central Line down to that Costa in Earl's Court that we both apparently frequent. He gave me a pastry recommendation."

Sirius snorted, "Your version of events is _so_ much less dramatic than his."

Remus rolled his eyes, "Yes, Sirius, because _you_ can slag off anyone else for being dramatic."

Sirius gasped, his hand flew to his chest, "How _dare you,_ Moony! I would _never!_ "

Remus laughed, seemingly in spite of himself, and leaned over to kiss Sirius again, "Oh, shut up, you tosser." Sirius just smiled winningly at Lily, "Works every time."

Remus shoved him playfully and Sirius laughed.

"So James said you three have been friends for… well, forever, basically?" Lily asked, smiling up at them as she poured tea for the table. Remus nodded, "Yeah, we met in primary school, and somehow ended up together in every school since. Milk?" He held the pitcher up and Lily nodded, "Just a splash, thanks."

Sirius frowned, "Well, you _did_ leave us when you went to off to University."

Remus rolled his eyes and smiled, exasperated, at Lily, "We all went to Magdalen, but I had to live in the library the last year and _god fucking forbid._ You would have thought I'd abandoned them on the street."

Sirius shook his head, "That's not _all_ you did! You did actually leave us!"

Remus sighed, "I didn't leave, you git, you two moved to London and I stayed at Oxford to finish my clinical work. I moved to London immediately after!"

Sirius frowned at Lily, "It was the worst two years of my life." Remus shoved him again and they both laughed.

"So what field do you work in, Remus? Oh, and what do you do Sirius? I never asked!"

Remus smirked at Sirius, "I don't know how much he _does_ to be honest - "

"Hey!"

Remus laughed, "I'm a paediatric surgeon. I was sick _a lot_ as a kid and I spent too much time in hospital."

Sirius nodded, "He was under the knife quite a bit too."

Remus smiled ruefully, "Yeah, I was. So I decided that I wanted to help some kids get through that, learn how to help them cope, make them better." Remus raised his eyebrow at Sirius, an amused smile playing at the corners of his mouth, "What life saving thing do _you_ do, Pads?"

Sirius rolled his eyes at Remus before grinning mischievously at Lily, "I studied engineering while we were at Oxford on the Black family dime and now I use my degree to rebuild vintage motorbikes. Those bastards are dead now, thank fucking christ, but I'm pretty confident they'd hate it, so I'm pretty proud of myself."

Sirius took a drag of his tea and shot Remus a look over the rim of his cup.

"So, what do you do?" Remus took a sip of his tea, set his cup back in the saucer, and looked at Lily intently. She smiled, "I'm getting my PhD in comparative politics from Kent. I spent the first few years of my programme abroad, but I moved back to London after the referendum to write a chapter about far-right movements. Though," she laughed derisively, "I guess I could have moved to France at this point too."

"So you wish you hadn't moved to London?" Sirius' voice was harsher than she'd yet heard and it took her a bit by surprise - she was used to the light, careless tone in his voice, but this was harder, more intense. She didn't know what he was on about, but she wasn't about to put up with his shit.

She smiled winningly, but her gaze had definitely steeled, "Obviously I'm happy I moved to London. Though maybe if you read the _news…_ " she trailed off, her tone a bit colder than she'd intended, sharpened by the smirk playing on her lips, "You'd have gotten the reference."

Remus glanced at Sirius, "Politics is cool, though, yeah?"

Sirius shrugged, "So, what do you think of Donald Trump?"

"He's a fucking cunt." Lily let her tone mirror Sirius', matching him in intensity. She hadn't noticed the corner of his mouth hitch up _just_ a bit before she continued, "He's, quite honestly, the dumbest, waste of space, arsebadgering shithead that America has ever elected. I don't know _what_ the fuck they were thinking and now we all have to suffer because their electoral system was designed by a bunch of twats. And I swear to _mother fucking christ,_ Black, if you tell me that you would have voted for that minging pillock, I will beat your fucking arse."

Lily took a sip of her tea, Remus raised his eyebrow at Sirius, and Sirius broke out into a full grin and extended his hand out across the table, "Alright, then, Evans."

She wasn't quite sure what had just happened, but she grinned and shook his hand anyway. _I really hope I haven't just agreed to something illegal._

They chatted amicably for the rest of the meal, swapping embarrassing stories (Sirius always won) and dragging each other whenever possible. Sirius seemed to be trying to figure out just how far she would go - to see how much he could get her to swear, how far she would be willing to go to make a joke. Unluckily for Sirius, she quite liked taking the mickey and he was usually her target.

"So, how did you guys get those ridiculous nicknames?" Lily asked, stuffing another chip into her mouth. Remus laughed through a mouthful of sandwich, "Oh my god, I barely remember. We've been using them so long now. It was… well, James' was first, wasn't it?" He raised a questioning eyebrow at Sirius, who nodded and swallowed an impressively ridiculous mouthful of food, "Yeah. He was hanging out with the deer in the deer park remember?"

Lily and Remus burst out laughing. "He was what?!" she asked, fighting to make sure the food she was currently chewing didn't spray all over the fucking table like she was some uncivilised monster who didn't know how to eat. Sirius grinned at her, "Your boyfriend loved the deer at Magdalen. We found him out in the middle of the deer park once, _fucking surrounded by deer_ just… laying there. So we started calling him Prongs, because," Sirius held his hands up by the side of his head to make it look like antlers and Lily snorted, "Fucking hell, he's lucky we love him sometimes, I swear to god."

Remus raised his eyebrow at Sirius and grinned, "And then you decided that one of us couldn't have a nickname if we _all_ didn't have nicknames." Remus shot Lily an exasperated look and she just grinned, "Well, naturally, Remus, that would just be ridiculous."

"Exactly!" Sirius shouted through a mouthful of chips, "That's what I said!"

Lily groaned, "Fucking hell, it can't be a good sign if I'm starting to sound like you."

Sirius reached across the table and shoved her shoulder playfully and they laughed, "So, alright, you're… what? Pads? Do I _want_ to know the story here or…" she trailed off and cringed dramatically and Sirius rolled his eyes, "Oh fuck off, Evans, it's short for Padfoot."

Lily snorted, " _That isn't better!"_

Sirius tossed a chip at her head, "It's like paws!" he held up the palms of his hands as though this would prove anything, "Like a dog's paws! Because I'm a _dog._ Get it?" He winked dramatically.

Tears were streaming down her face now as she laughed, "No!"

Remus was barely breathing with laughter just watching Lily fall apart in front of them. "Mine," Remus gasped between heaves of laughter, "mine makes even less sense. We… we…" he paused and tried to take a deep breath, but laughter kept bubbling up out of his mouth and he would dissolve all over again. Sirius grinned and pressed a kiss to Remus' cheek, "You've been with me too long, Moons, you've gone mad."

Remus nodded as he wiped tears from his eyes and took a final breath before he was finally calm enough, "We… I don't remember why those two started this dumb fucking story, but they started trying to convince people at Oxford that I was a werewolf."

Whatever Lily had been expecting, it wasn't that. She spit chips all down her front and the other two dissolved into hysterics again.

About an hour later, they'd paid for their lunch (well, Sirius had, much to Lily's annoyance). Remus was, much to her disappointment, going into the hospital and wouldn't be meeting them back at James' flat, so she wrapped him in a hug, gave him her mobile number, and made him swear that they would get coffee or lunch again soon. Remus had smiled warmly at her before kissing Sirius goodbye and walking off to the nearest tube station.

"Ready, Red?" Sirius asked her, smirking and holding her helmet out to her. Lily plonked the helmet on her head and grinned, "Ready, Black."

* * *

They pulled back up at James' flat nearly an hour later (riding a motorbike, it seems, it a lot less fun when you're sitting in traffic, so he took a few… detours). Sirius walked the bike to the alley beside James' flat and waved Lily over into the alley. She quirked her eyebrow at him but Sirius just waved even more enthusiastically - she rolled her eyes but joined him in the alley. "If you kill me, James will know, Black." He snorted, "Please, Evans, if I wanted to kill you, you would have been dead hours ago."

"Comforting," Lily deadpanned and Sirius winked. "Alright, Red, want to fuck with James?"

Lily smirked, "Don't I always?"

Sirius groaned, "God, keep your trousers on. Here's the plan. I've got keys to the flat -"

"Yes," Lily said, rolling her eyes, "I remember waking up to you completely unannounced while James and I were in bed this morning." Sirius sighed dramatically, "Yes, yes good times. Now -" his voice dropped in tone and volume, he leaned closer to her like they were planning a heist, "James startles really fucking easily -"

"Oh my god, no wonder he loves deer," Lily said, giggling under her breath. Sirius grinned, "Exactly. So we're going to sneak upstairs and scare the shit out of him."

Lily smiled broadly, "Oh my god, okay. What are we going to do, scream or something?"

Sirius grinned, "Yeah, we'll just scream as loud as we fucking can. But," Sirius said, his voice dropping even lower, "we have to be dead fucking silent. He has like, bat ears or something. It's fucking weird. So walk like you weigh nothing, Evans. You got it?"

She gave him a thumbs up to demonstrate her commitment to silence and Sirius nodded like a general going into battle and walked out of the alley. He promptly ruined his battle demeanour, though, when he grinned at her before unlocking the door, looking more like a giant five year old promised a feast of sweets than the 28 year old man that he was. They crept over the threshold and Sirius shut the door gently behind them, turning the handle so that the lock wouldn't click when he shut the door. James' flat was on the second floor and Lily looked nervously at Sirius - the stairs were _notoriously_ creaky but Sirius just grinned and pointed aggressively towards the right hand side of the stairs and he moved quietly through the corridor. She listened as he stepped up a few stairs and heard nothing - she grinned at Sirius when he checked over his shoulder to make sure she was following him and crept up the stairs behind him.

When they got to James' door, Sirius put his finger to his lips, then pointed down at his feet and slid off his trainers, leaving them in the corridor. Lily nodded and followed suit, and Sirius pulled the key out of his pocket and slowly, painfully slowly, unlocked the door, and opened it just wide enough that they could slide through. Sirius shut the door quietly behind them and they stood in the sitting room, listening quietly for a few moments to figure out where James was in the flat. Lily heard the clacking of his keyboard and some barely audible music from the office and she pointed - Sirius grinned and began sliding across the sitting room on his socked feet (she smiled, inside, stupidly thinking about how cute James probably looked sitting at his desk working. She'd walked in on him working in his office just the other day, bopping his head to the Arctic Monkeys while he was writing a journal article about badgers or something, and he'd looked so delightfully adorable that she'd had to snog him then and there).

They made their way to the door more quickly than Lily would have thought and Sirius held her gaze and signalled that, now, they were just going to poke their heads through the office door and scream. Anticipation was bubbling in her stomach and it was like Sirius could sense it - he smiled widely and counted backwards from three on his fingers.

"AHHHHHH!" They hadn't held back - their screams were loud in _Lily's_ ears, and she'd known it was coming.

"AHH FUCKING HELL!" James jumped about a metre in the air and sort of stumbled out of his chair, before his eyes found a doubled over Sirius and Lily standing just outside his office, leaning against each other, shaking all over with laughter and gasping for breath. "You fucking twats!" James was shouting and clearly pissed, but he was also laughing and completely undermining himself. "You… should have seen…" Lily started saying and Sirius braced himself against her shoulder, "YOUR FACE!" he shouted, finishing her sentence.

James walked swiftly across the office, scooped Lily up and tossed her onto his shoulder (she screeched), and tucked Sirius under his arm again. "YOU TWO ARE THE WORST!" His fingers were digging into her side and she was screaming with laughter until he finally put her down. She grasped Sirius' forearm and pulled him out from under James' arm and they doubled over in laughter again, trying to take deep breaths to steady themselves. "Fucking… hell… mate..." Sirius said, straightening up and brushing his hair back out of his face, "You should… fuck. You should have seen your face."

"Yeah," Lily said, grinning winningly at James, "It was brilliant." She saw Sirius look at her out of the corner of her eye and she looked at him. "Great work, Red," Sirius said, holding out his hand. Lily shook it and James groaned, "Great. Glad you two are friends and that you're now going to be torturing me _together."_

Sirius laughed, his loud, barking laughter echoing off the office walls, "You better prepare yourself, mate," he said, grinning wickedly at James, "Our Lily doesn't fuck around."

James' eyes flicked quickly to Lily before he raised his eyebrow at Sirius, "Our?" James was staring at him intently and Lily had the distinct impression that they were communicating by some secret 'brother' code they'd developed for expressly this purpose. Sirius shrugged, but smiled, "Yeah." James' grin lit up the room, he laughed, and grabbed the two of them in a hug, pressing them in against his chest.

Sirius smirked at her somewhat awkwardly, his face slightly smushed against James' jumper, "Welcome to the family, Red."


	4. Chapter 4

**Note the new rating^^ (again, you can thank professorriddikulus for the ensuing content)**

 **Disclaimer: blah blah blah okay moving on**

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They were, actually, kind of like a family.

A really weird, slightly disturbed family with absolutely no boundaries, but a family all the same.

Lily now had the boys on rotation, going to lunch with Remus, Sirius, or both of them whenever she needed a pickup mid-day. James sometimes snuck out of the museum and joined them, and even Marlene managed to leave the gallery office a few times. Marlene had been absolutely beside herself the first time she'd met Sirius, drama queens that they were. They spent ninety per cent of their time complaining about how their best mates would be pathetic losers without them and oh god, weren't they just so lucky to finally meet someone else who understood the struggle? Lily had smacked them both before _that_ particular lunch was over, which of course only sent them both into fits of laugher.

The best was when everyone was able to sneak out of work at the same time and they could all get lunch together. The few times this had actually happened, though, complete chaos ensued. They were all thrown out of a restaurant just two weeks after Lily and the rest of the "Marauders" (she still rolled her eyes whenever she said it and sometimes put air-quotes around it - it drove Sirius absolutely mad, which, of course, made her do it all the more) had met. It had started nicely enough - a polite lunch in a small cafe near Marlene's gallery in Soho - and had somehow rapidly deteriorated into an all-out chip war.

Lily still got dirty looks from the head waiter whenever he happened to be outside when she walked by to visit Marlene. They'd tried it a few more times, but they always laughed too loudly, swore too much, or were just generally too disruptive for the wait staff of any fucking restaurant they visited. So, instead of fighting lunch crowds in Central London and trying to watch their mouths, Lily and Marlene decided they would have a 'lunch club' on Saturday afternoons.

They were all lounging around in James' sitting room when they'd proposed it - Lily was sitting on the couch with James' head in her lap, Marlene was in the armchair by James' fireplace, and Sirius was sitting on the back of James' sofa, one of his legs draped across the back cushions so that he could periodically tap Lily in the back of the head with his foot.

"A lunch club?" Sirius quirked his eyebrow at them and Marlene nodded enthusiastically, "Yes! We'll all go over to someone else's house, we'll eat lunch, and drink, and chat! It will be great!"

Sirius sighed, "I'm down with the drinking part at least."

Lily shoved him off the back of James' sofa and onto the floor.

Sirius had slagged them off for it, but nearly six months later, the lunch club was now a veritable fam-tradition (Lily had taken to calling their group 'fam' after Marlene had used it once - she was always the cooler one of the two of them - and Sirius had practically died laughing at how stupid it was - they all, except Sirius out of spite, now used it). This week was their week to host and, though they'd now done this dozens of times, Lily was freaking out.

Marlene was in their kitchen pulling together a plate of sandwiches while Lily finished tidying up. "Lily, they're fucking family, why are you flipping out about the flat?" Marlene laughed, walking out into the kitchen brandishing a knife covered in goat cheese and Lily about had a stroke, "If you drop goat cheese on my clean floor, Mar, I will fucking cut you."

Marlene rolled her eyes, "Lily, chill. They've all seen our flat in various states of disarray. Why do you think _today_ is going to be different?"

Lily fisted her hand into her hair, "YOU KNOW WHY TODAY IS DIFFERENT!" Marlene looked pointedly at Lily's hand in her hair. Lily scowled, "Fuck off," and tossed a cushion at Marlene's head.

Their flat _was_ actually clean - Lily just needed something to do with her hands. She'd opened up all the windows to let the last bits of the warm summer breeze through, hoovered every square inch of the flat, and even, much to Marlene's amusement, washed the windows. Marlene had nearly died laughing when she found Lily balancing precariously on a tower of books she'd built in lieu of a ladder - Lily had thrown the rag at her head, but it hadn't stopped Marlene from laughing every time she saw the stack of books Lily had since haphazardly shoved back into their corner.

Lily smoothed her skirt, thankful that it was still just a _bit_ too warm to wear trousers, and walked into the kitchen. She put the kettle on and grabbed a roasted pepper off of Marlene's workstation and popped herself up onto the counter. "So how am I telling him again?"

She was trying to be casual and cool, but Lily Evans was the absolute fucking opposite of casual and cool, especially when she needed to have a conversation she really did not want to fucking have. Marlene dipped her knife into some goat cheese, slathered it on a pair of peppers and handed one to Lily who smiled gratefully, "You just tell him." She leaned up against the counter, took their mugs out and dropped tea bags in, "It's not like you kept this from him for months. You literally just found out."

The kettle clicked off and Marlene poured water into their mugs - they ate a few more peppers while they waited for their tea to steep, Lily grabbed a spoon from the drawer next to her and ate a huge bite of goat cheese.

They finished preparing their tea and Lily took a drag, burning the fuck out of her mouth, "Ouch, shit." Marlene laughed, "You always fucking do that, Lily, christ."

Lily sighed, "I can't help it." Marlene grinned and tossed a pepper at her head, "I know you can't, you prat."

They sipped their tea in silence for a few moments before Lily started up again, "What if he's like… really pissed off?"

Marlene rolled her eyes, "He's not going to be even _remotely_ pissed off."

"But say that he is!"

Marlene stuffed another pepper into her mouth, "Are we talking about the same man here or did you suddenly start dating James' evil twin or something?"

Lily groaned, "Look, I know, he's accommodating and wonderful and supportive, but this is… this is a lot. This isn't some small thing!"

Marlene set her mug down on the counter, grabbed Lily's hand, and pulled her off the worktop and into a hug. Marlene did always give the best hugs, and Lily was soon wiping tears off her cheeks. "Hey," Marlene said, chuckling a bit and holding Lily at arms length ("It's alright, Lily had protested, laughing awkwardly, "they're just stress tears"), "it will be alright. I promise you."

Lily nodded and Marlene pulled her back in for a hug, "It will, Lils, I swear. And if he's rude about it, I will kick him in the dick _so hard_ he won't even know what hit him." They both laughed and Marlene gave her a final squeeze before releasing her and handing Lily her mug of tea.

"Here," she said, smiling, "go sit on the couch and drink this. Deep breaths." Lily smiled, reached out and wrapped her free arm around Marlene's shoulders, "You're the fucking best, you know that?" Marlene smiled winningly at her when she pulled back and flicked her hair over her shoulder, "Of course I know that."

Lily laughed, rolled her eyes, and grabbed the sandwich platter before walking back out into the sitting room. She set the platter on their dining table near the stairs and sat down on the couch to finish drinking her tea.

The boys, all three of them, arrived about twenty minutes later. James had swept Lily up in his arms, planted an embarrassingly suggestive kiss on her lips (Sirius had groaned loudly enough for all of Leytonstone to hear), and then smiled winningly at Marlene and grabbed her into a hug. "How are my favourite people today?" he asked, grinning at Lily. Sirius scoffed, "Excuse me, I thought _I_ was your favourite?!"

Remus laughed as he shut the door to their flat (Sirius had, of course, left it open), "Please, Pads, I've always been Prongs' favourite." James nodded fervently and wrapped his arm around Remus' shoulders when he walked into the sitting room, "It's true."

Sirius rolled his eyes, grabbed a sandwich and stuffed half of it into his mouth before flopping down on the small sofa near their dining table. Sirius quirked his eyebrow at them as he chewed, "Like either of you two would survive without me."

Remus laughed, "We would do more than survive. We would thrive in our new environment suddenly lacking in excessive noise and drama."

James grinned at Remus and handed him a sandwich off the platter, "God, wouldn't that be _something_ Moony?" He had a wistful look on his face that made Sirius stare daggers at him. Sirius dug a pepper out of his sandwich and flung it across the room at James - it stuck to his glasses and the three of them dissolved into a fit of laughter.

Marlene caught Lily's eye and shook her head, "I don't know why we hang out with them, honestly. We could do so much better." Lily laughed and turned to watch James try, stupidly, to scrub the bits of goat cheese off his glasses with his handkerchief, "We love them."

Marlene snorted, "Yeah. _We."_

Lily looked pointedly at Marlene, trying to relay that _what we talk about on our own does not come out in public yet oh my fucking god you git,_ and gave her the finger, "Fuck off, McKinnon." Marlene just blew her a kiss.

Lily went to help James clean up his glasses, Remus padded into the kitchen and put the kettle on, and Sirius and Marlene kicked back, sandwiches in hand, and complained about how their mates didn't nearly appreciate them enough. As Lily walked back into the sitting room, James' arm around her waist, newly clean glasses restored to his face, her stomach clenched at the sight of them all _together_ like that. Remus was walking back into the sitting room, electric kettle in one hand, tea tray in the other, like he belonged there; Sirius and Marlene were lounged together, her legs on his lap, like they'd known each other for decades. And she realised, as she and James walked in and sat down on the couch opposite Marlene and Sirius, James leaning forward to pour tea for her, Remus, and himself, that they all did, really, belong there. James leaned up against the arm of the sofa, his leg tucked up along the back cushions, and Lily settled between his thighs, his fingers played with the ends of her hair while they sat and talked to Remus about his work in the hospital that week. He'd operated on a kid that had decided, very stupidly, to jump off the roof of his house, and he and James spent a few minutes (very frustrating minutes for Lily because _you fucking wankers could have gotten yourselves killed!_ ) recounting the various near-surgery injuries they'd gotten as kids.

She couldn't believe, when she sat down and thought about it, that they were here now, with these ridiculous bastards, because she and James had met on the _tube._ The tube of all bloody places. But now she couldn't remember her life before the three of them were in it, couldn't remember a time when her mobile wasn't full of sexts (real ones from James or cheeky ones from Remus and Sirius after she'd sent one to Sirius by mistake that one bloody time), when her flat wasn't packed full of these gits every third weekend, when she and Marlene didn't spend hours trying to talk Sirius out of harassing their old neighbour 'just for laughs.' Marlene had, years ago, replaced Petunia as her sister, and in the few months since they'd gotten to know the boys, it was like their little two-person family had exploded. It was mad and chaotic and usually extremely disruptive, but it was also warm and loving and supportive and not a single moment went by, not one, when they weren't laughing about _something._ Thinking about it now, James' fingers tracing patterns on the side of her thigh where her skirt had ridden up, Remus regaling them with a detailed account of a particularly gross surgery, panic and nostalgia and dread surged through her gut, made her impending conversation with James all the more terrifying.

She didn't want to lose this. She wasn't ready to lose this. Sure, they were annoying and loud and, _somehow,_ one of them (usually Sirius) always ended up in a headlock, but she loved these idiots. She loved this dynamic she and Marlene had with them, the way that they'd folded the boys so easily into their lives. They had _clicked_ \- and now, staring at an uncertain future, Lily fought her impulse to panic or, more embarrassingly, start stress crying again.

"How was your week, Lils?"

Remus was smiling at her and she grinned back, compacting the panic into as small as space as she possibly could, "Well, I don't want you to feel bad, Remus, but my week was _way_ more exciting than yours."

Remus nodded solemnly, his acting on point as ever, "I don't know why I ever think my time in theatre is going to be more thrilling than your time behind your computer screen." Lily laughed, "Though your work is more _cutting edge_ isn't it?"

James snorted and Remus grinned, tipped his tea cup at her, "Nice."

They sat around chatting, stuffing as many sandwiches into their mouths as they could, and drinking tea until they'd finished four pots and Sirius was sufficiently caffeinated to jump over their coffee table and into Remus' lap. Remus wanted to chastise him, really he did, especially because James had to grab Lily around the waist when she popped up off the couch and nearly fell onto the floor, but the complaints died on his lips when Sirius slid his hand up his side (underneath his shirt because of course) and kissed him. Lily, James, and Marlene immediately started "OOOOOOO!"-ing at the top of their voices, and Sirius smiled against his lips when he felt Remus give them all the finger behind his back.

Lily rolled her eyes and laid back, her head resting on James' chest. He dipped his head, his lips at her ear, and whispered just loudly enough for them to hear, "Our boys are all grown up." Remus laughed then and Sirius rolled, planting himself between Remus and the back cushions in what looked to be a supremely uncomfortable position. "You're just jealous, Prongs," Sirius said, "Remus never had eyes for anyone but me."

Remus gasped and turned to Sirius, "So you didn't hear about the extremely illicit tryst James and I had back in sixth form?"

Everyone laughed, but Sirius was not amused. He vaulted, literally vaulted, himself out from behind Remus and padded into the kitchen, "McKinnon, where's your booze?"

Marlene rolled her eyes, but she was grinning when she walked into the kitchen. Lily laughed when she heard a dull thud and Marlene's mildly irritated voice, "It's right here you fucking moron."

Sirius sounded affronted, "This is all you have?! How am I supposed to drink _this?!_ " Lily could practically feel Marlene rolling her eyes, "Oh, I forgot sir, we peasants are rarely prepared to serve someone of your station their drink of choice. We're so sorry if we offended." Marlene's sarcasm was _scathing_ and Lily, Remus, and James were shaking with silent laughter.

"You should be sorry, McKinnon," Sirius said, his voice adopting that posh tone he was so fond of, "I'll report you to the Queen herself if you don't remedy the situation immediately."

Marlene laughed, "Yeah, the Queen really cares if you get your drink." They heard a body crash into the cabinets, Sirius huffed, and Marlene strolled out of the kitchen, a grin plastered on her face, "Alright, come on Remus, we're going to get some liquor."

Remus shook his head, "Why do I have to go with you two? You're a walking trainwreck."

"Excuse me," Sirius came out of the kitchen, rubbing his head where he must have smacked it on the cabinet, "I happen to be _your_ trainwreck." He grabbed Marlene, taking her completely by surprise, and put her in a headlock.

"You see," Remus said, finishing the rest of his tea, "this is exactly why I don't want to go anywhere with you two."

Marlene was punching Sirius in the side and tried to move her body so she could look Remus in the eye, "You have to come with me or I'm going to kill him," she punched him again and Sirius laughed, shifting his body around so that Marlene couldn't hit him in the same spot twice, "And I'm pretty sure you love him at _least_ occasionally, so you'd probably be sad if I pushed him off a bridge into the middle of a roundabout and let him fend for himself."

Sirius laughed, "That's oddly specific, McKinnon."

Marlene aimed one last punch right at his ribs and Sirius shrieked, letting her go, "What can I say, Black, _I've thought about it a lot._ "

Sirius rolled his eyes, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug, rocking her madly from side to side, "YOU LOVE ME MICKS, DON'T DENY IT!"

"I will cut your fucking dick off if you call me Micks again, Black."

Sirius laughed and pulled away, but left his arm draped over her shoulders. He smiled at Remus, "What do you say love of my life? Come get some alcohol with us? Besides," he looked pointedly at Lily and James, "Do you _really_ want to be here alone with these two? They're so…" he let his eyes move over them, relaxing calmly on the couch, tea in hand, "domestic." He said it like it was the dirtiest term in the world, and James and Lily both gave him the finger.

Remus sighed, but set his mug down on the coffee table and stood up - "Anything I can get you two?" he asked, smiling exasperatedly down at the pair of them. Lily shook her head and James grinned, "Nah, thanks mate. Just try to kill them, yeah? If you have to kill one, make it Padfoot. I'm rather partial to McKinnon."

James winked at Marlene and Sirius grumbled, "Fuck off, you twat," and walked up the corridor and out their door. Marlene looked pointedly a Lily and raised her eyebrows, and Lily felt herself flush a bit, but she nodded all the same. _Fucking Marlene making me do this shit now. Bastard, bastard, bastard, I'm not ready for this!_

Remus slung his arm over Marlene's shoulder, "Let's go before he starts harassing people in the street."

They shut the door quietly behind them, and James' hands went immediately to her hips, his lips found the side of her neck, "So, either the fam is incredibly crafty or they genuinely felt the need to go get booze in the middle of a Saturday afternoon."

Lily swallowed. She could, very easily, just pretend she had no idea what was going on, shag James on the sofa and call it a day. But Marlene would actually kill her with her bare fucking hands if she didn't use this opportunity to talk to James, not after she'd served it up on a silver platter. She'd let Sirius put her in a headlock, for fuck's sake, if Lily didn't talk to James that was the _least_ she was going to have to worry about in retaliation.

"They're being crafty," Lily said after a long moment, "At least," she cleared her throat, "Marlene is."

Lily moved out from between James' legs, turned on the sofa to face him - he looked calm, but he knit his eyebrows together in a way that completely betrayed him. She knew he was running through all the options for what she was sure he thought was going to be a big conversation. She took his hand.

"James, I…" she trailed off and looked down at their hands, her hair falling into her face. She knew that she was making it worse, she just needed to spit it the fuck out already, but it's hard and she's scared and she didn't want him to run. _No. He's not a prat. Marlene's right, it will be okay. I hope._

She took a deep breath and raised her eyes again - James looked even more nervous now, though it's probably just because he's no longer bothering to hide it. His eyes were flying over her face, trying desperately to read her mind, so she just squeezed his hand, smiled softly, and, after taking a deep breath, said "James, I have to go back to Brussels."

He's quiet for a minute, a minute that drags on and on in her mind like a fucking millennium, but finally he exhaled, grinned at her. She can tell that it's forced, just a little bit, but it's better than the other ridiculously dramatic responses she'd cooked up in her head. "Okay…" he was clearly still processing this, so she took the lead.

"Not for long. Just… well, actually, until December - "

James gasped, "That's four months!"

"I know." She's been through this same argument with herself in her head a billion times already.

He's quiet for a few minutes more, his thumb running along the back of her knuckles while he's thinking, and she just watched him, watched his expressions change ever so slightly as he processed the fact that she's going back to the continent for the rest of the year.

He cleared his throat, "Okay, is there a backstory here, or…?"

She nodded, launched into the whole bloody thing - "My advisor emailed me a few nights ago, told me that, per some random rule in the department, that all PhD candidates _have_ to be on their host campus for the final semester. And - "

"Brussels is your host campus. _Fuck_." He raked his hand through his hair, clearly frustrated, but when his eyes met hers they were just… sad.

She'd never seen that look in his eyes before and she would pay any amount of money to never, ever see it again.

"When do you leave?"

She sighed, "A week."

He's quiet again, but his grip on her hand became firmer, and she frowned, her chest tight, "I… I don't want to be leaving - "

He sighed, smiled at her softly, "Don't be ridiculous, you have to go. This is your _future._ You worked so bloody hard to get here and this is the last fucking piece. It's just four months. We can survive that. We're bloody _amazing._ " He grinned, weaved the fingers of his free hand in her hair, studied her for a moment, "I'm going to miss you, though."

His voice was barely more than a whisper now and when he pulled her into a hug, crushing her against his chest (somewhat awkwardly because her stupid leg is under her stupid arse), she felt the tears welling up in her eyes again, but she bit them back. _I'm being ridiculous. I wouldn't be crying about this if I wasn't seeing James, there's no reason to be crying about this now._

Though, this is also complete bollocks - when she'd left Marlene to go to Brussels in the first place, she'd cried for a week. She knew she was going to cry again no matter what.

He pulled back, held her at arm's length, before dropping one hand from her shoulder to her waist, "I'll write to you. Every day." She laughed, "You'll _write?_ We have e-mail, James. And iPhones."

He chuckled, "I know, and believe me, Evans Lily Evans, I'll be FaceTiming you every bloody day. But wouldn't a letter be nice?"

She rolled her eyes, but the smile on her lips gives her away, "It just seems wildly impractical, but if you insist."

James laughed and pushed her shoulder so she fell back onto the seat of the couch. She was about to sit up, to admonish him because _pushing is not nice, James,_ when he moved so that he's hovering over her and suddenly her breathing is shallow and _nope, this is brilliant, more of this._ He grinned wickedly at her, "I absolutely insist, Evans."

She tried to play it cool, so she shrugged, and said "Whatever," but the last piece of her noncommittal reply was muffled because James had pressed his mouth to hers. She is suddenly quite sure that she isn't breathing. _How in the bloody fuck is he that good at this? How, after all these months of snogging and shagging and everything the fuck else does he still manage to almost kill me when he does this?_

She weaved her fingers in his hair, ran her tongue along his bottom lip, he slid his hand up her skirt and she broke the kiss, laughing, "Oh, going right for it are we?"

He pressed a quick kiss to her lips, fiddled with the edges of her knickers, "We have to be quick. Those prats'll be back soon. And I was thinking it might be fun to see how many shags we can work in before you set off for the continent..." He waggled his eyebrows at her.

Lily laughed, but her hands moved instantly to the button of his trousers, "Excellent point. Carry on then."

He wasted no time in sliding her knickers off. Lily hummed against his lips in approval, but it turned quickly into a moan when James pressed his fingers against her, and she arced against him, already desperate for more friction. She can hardly focus on what her hands are doing, still trying (sort of, she's a bit distracted) to undo his trousers, but his mouth is on her neck again and his fingers are maintaining that masterful balance between pressure and friction and movement and _why the bleeding fuck can't I undo these stupid fucking trousers this is absurd._

"Do you need help, love?" James asked, pressing a searing kiss to her throat. She was about to tell him off but he slipped a pair of fingers inside her and whatever she was going to say became a moan instead. He just laughed and kissed her again, "Is that a yes, or?"

She ignored him, tried to focus her brain back on that _fucking trouser button_ and when she finally, _finally_ managed to unfasten it, James laughed against her lips, "About bloody time."

Now that his trousers are undone, that this was definitely happening, her brain started, _annoyingly,_ to call her back, to remind her that, you know, her friends were surely going to be back soon and perhaps they wouldn't want to sit on a couch that smelled like sex. "We can't shag on the couch," Lily said, breaking the kiss again. James seemed unconcerned, moved his lips back to her jaw and down her neck, kissing that spot she liked on her pulse point and making her groan. "James," it wasn't nearly the admonishing tone she was going for, and he smiled against her skin.

"Why can't we fuck on the couch, exactly?" He trailed the tip of his tongue up the column of her neck and she shivered. She felt him smile again and she would have kicked him if it wouldn't have killed the whole mood. _Damn him and his stupid tongue and his stupid hands and his stupid -_

"Well," she bit back another groan as he grazed her neck with his teeth, "uhm... they'll be back and they'll have to sit here. And... I don't _know_."

He chuckled into her skin, clearly enjoying the fact that he was making her brain sputter. She grabbed his face and pulled his mouth back to hers, "Bloody bastard." He smiled against her lips; had her eyes been open, she would have rolled them.

"Don't you think though," he said, pulling his mouth from hers and kissing the other side of her neck, "that it would be _supremely_ amusing to make Sirius sit on the couch we just shagged on?"

She pretended to think about this, but taking her time was clearly not an option - he curled his fingers inside her and placed a searing kiss on her neck that made her groan, arch her back, press her hips against his. "Another excellent point, Potter," she said, breathlessly now, moving her hands back to the waistband of his trousers and pushing them down as far as she could manage from her position. James chuckled, "I knew you'd see sense, Evans," and he kissed her again.

"Just hurry up, you prat," she said, wrapping her legs around his waist and pressing him into her, "if Sirius sees my fucking vagina I will kill you with my bare hands."

James sighed, "Can we not talk about Sirius when I've got my fingers inside you?"

She laughed, "Worried I'm thinking about him instead?"

James smirked, removed his fingers, "Impossible." She had the snappy reply on the tip of her tongue, but then he pushed into her and _holy fuck holy fuck holy fuck why aren't we doing this every minute of every fucking day?_

They usually have a whole bag of tricks they try on each other, but James seemed to understand that she absolutely fucking meant it when she said that she would kill him if Sirius walked in on them, and he's aims for efficiency instead of creativity. He grabbed one of her thighs and moved his hand between them, pressed his thumb against her in the way that he _knows_ always makes her fall apart, set a rhythm that is smooth and deep and fast, and it doesn't take long before she is coming apart in his hands. He seemed proud of himself, smiling against her lips as he kissed her after she'd finished in what she's sure is record time.

They'd only just finished, barely just - James is walking out of the bathroom when Lily hears the door open and she launches herself across the sitting room onto the un-shagged upon sofa after having straightened up the other so that it looked as presentable and innocent as possible. Sirius walked into the sitting room, bottle of gin in hand and grins at Lily stretched out on the couch before falling back onto the other sofa.

The laugh is threatening to burst out of her, but James sunk down beside her on the sofa, wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and she was distracted enough by his proximity to keep from crying with laughter right then. They didn't tell him until a few hours later when they're all walking out the door - Lily grabbed Sirius in a hug and whispered, "James and I fucked on the sofa while you all were gone."

Sirius put her in a headlock and tickled her mercilessly, but it was worth it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Enjoy x**

* * *

Being back in Brussels after having been gone for over a year was… bittersweet. She'd suspected that it might be, but it had been hard not to pay more attention to the bitter portion when she was saying goodbye to James and Marlene on the platform at St Pancras.

She was, as she predicted, an absolute ball of tears that day. _And_ the night before when Marlene and James had arranged a surprise dinner out with Remus and Sirius because neither of them could escape from work to actually say goodbye the next day.

Sirius had been the first to grab her in a hug that night, wrapping her up in his arms the moment he walked through the door of the restaurant. She'd immediately burst into tears, but instead of slagging her off, Sirius just hugged her tighter, "It'll be alright, Red. I'll hold down the fort while you're gone."

She'd laughed at that and he'd pulled back, planted a kiss on her cheek, and smiled impishly at her, "Let's get pissed."

In retrospect, it had probably been a bad idea (she'd woken up with the worst hangover she'd ever had), but it had been worth it. At any rate, it stopped her crying the entire night - by the end of it, the lot of them were back in her flat, lying on the carpet in the sitting room, staring at the ceiling, laughing about god knows what and making plans for all the times they were going to come out to the continent to visit her.

"I'll ride my bike over, Red," Sirius had said, propping himself on his elbow and grinning at her. His eyes flicked over to James and his grin got wider, "We'll go riding all over Belgium. And I'll go _so_ much faster than I did last time."

James had shoved him back down onto the floor and Sirius' barking laughter just echoed around them.

The next morning on the platform had been the worst. Her hangover was killer, certainly, but she'd somehow managed to completely (well, nearly) forget it when she was standing there, case in hand, staring at Marlene and James. Tears began streaming down her face the moment they stepped onto her platform, and Marlene grabbed her into a hug, "Oh, Lils, now stop this." Lily laughed, wiped the tears off her cheeks, "You know I can't help it, Mar."

Marlene squeezed her tighter, "I know, Lil. But I am so bloody proud of you! I want you to remember that, okay?"

She pulled back, held Lily at arms length, smiled at her, "You hear me? I'm so fucking proud of you, Lily. So fucking proud. You're going to miss us, but don't miss us too much, alright? You have a degree to earn. Swear it to me."

Marlene cocked her eyebrow at her, Lily laughed and nodded, "Alright, love, I promise."

Marlene grinned, "Good. Now," she looked over Lily's shoulder at James, "I'll just… go over and examine that departures board while you two say goodbye, yeah?"

Lily rolled her eyes, but James swooped in immediately, wrapping his arms around her waist. The rapidity of the movement set Lily and Marlene laughing. "Christ," Marlene said, pushing James' head, "somebody is needy."

"Piss off, McKinnon," James said, laughing, "Go see when the next train to Paris is leaving."

Lily arched her eyebrow, "Going on a romantic holiday once I'm gone?" James gasped, turned to look at Marlene, "Shit, Mar, she's found us out!"

Marlene rolled her eyes, "You two are stupid. I'm going to leave, get to snogging."

And they did. The way James moved his hands over her wasn't at all appropriate, the groan that escaped her throat when he bit down lightly on her lip was massively embarrassing, the way she was pressing her body as closely as she physically could to his was borderline pornographic, but Lily could not find even a scrap of herself that cared.

 _The people of St Pancras should be happy I didn't rip my trousers off right there on the platform, honestly._

Marlene had given them five minutes, five minutes they'd used to the absolute fullest (much to the chagrin of the people in their immediate vicinity) before Marlene wandered back over. Marlene cleared her throat loudly and James chuckled against Lily's lips. "Our time's up," he whispered, and Lily sighed, "Apparently."

He pressed one last, soft kiss to her lips and rested his forehead on hers - "I'm going to miss you so fucking much… but you're going to kick arse, love." She nodded, her forehead moving against his and he tightened his grip on her hips, pulled her against him again, "I'm serious."

Lily grinned, opened her mouth to reply, and James laughed, pinching her hip and setting Lily laughing, "Don't you start with that, too! I can barely keep Sirius from doing it."

Lily smiled, but then there was an announcement that her train was boarding, and the light moment was lost. She pressed a kiss to his lips, "It's just until December." She said it to him as much as she said it to herself, and he reached up, weaved his fingers into her hair, "Just four months. And you're going to have the most goddamn impressive dissertation they've ever seen. Let me know when your defence is - the whole fam will come out."

They announced final boarding, and Lily backed away far enough from James to grab Marlene in one arm before wrapping James in the other. They wrapped their arms around her and Lily did her best to fight back tears. _It's just four months._

"Alright," Marlene said after a moment, "You're going to miss your train. Go!" She pressed a kiss to Lily's cheek, James kissed her one final time, Lily grabbed her case and darted towards the nearest compartment door.

She settled into a chair near a window as soon as the train began to move and she waved frantically - James finally spotted her, pointed her out to Marlene and they waved. Marlene reached up and wiped her eyes, because of course she'd waited to cry until she knew Lily was already on the train, and James dropped an arm over her shoulder. They stood there until the train had pulled out of the station and she couldn't see them anymore.

 _God, I miss them so fucking much._

She loved Brussels - really, she did. It was the first place she'd lived on her own, besides university which didn't really count. She'd found herself here, become who she was here - when she'd moved here three years ago, it was the first time in her life when she was setting out on her own, truly on her own, and it had terrified her, but also thrilled her. She'd missed Marlene every day, had called her nearly non-stop those first few years while she was abroad, but she had grown so much while she'd been away. It felt incredibly cliche to even _think_ it, but it was true.

She was only staying for a few months, so she was living with another woman in the programme who happened, somehow, to have a spare room in her flat. Lily and Dorcas hadn't ever met before, but they'd become fast friends. Well, acquaintances at least.

Dorcas was quiet, quieter than Lily was used to (especially now that she was friends with a group of men that might as well be a collection of bloody zoo animals), but this didn't bother her like she'd expected it would. Dorcas was thoughtful and reserved in a way that _almost_ reminded her of Remus and that made her feel just a bit more at home. Dorcas didn't quite have Remus' biting sarcasm, his penchant for cleverly devised destruction, his deep, carrying laugh, but the way she carried herself was similar, and that made her feel just a bit better.

She'd told James this when she called him one night, about a week after she'd left - she was sitting at a cafe on one of the busy avenues near her university building after a long, _long_ day spent in the library, and hearing James' voice was the only bloody reprieve from the weak-arse tea and the headache pounding in her temples. James had laughed, "Remus will be dead chuffed that you're excited to have found his almost-double there." He was quiet for a minute, "He misses you a lot, you know. We all miss you."

"I miss you all too. So bloody much."

James broke the tension by telling her about how Sirius had modelled for Marlene earlier that week, and he had made so many lewd jokes that she'd ended up throwing her pallette at him.

Tears were streaming down her face and people nearby were starting to stare because of how loudly she was laughing, but she didn't care, "Was he even _naked_?! Mar hasn't done nudes since uni."

"No!" James was laughing so hard she was sure he must be crying too, "He was completely clothed! She had him in a chair, I think, something about doing a series on things in motion at rest? All I know is Sirius went home covered in paint and Remus called me laughing so hard it took ten minutes for me to get to story out of him."

"He's such a git, I swear," Lily wiped the remaining tears from her eyes and shot a glare at the man across from her who was staring. The man huffed and went back to his paper and Lily rolled her eyes.

That became their relationship - bits of conversation on the phone when she could steal a break, delayed lunches so Lily could FaceTime James while they ate together, long evenings on the phone while they laid in bed. Marlene had slagged her off so hard for that one, but they honestly hadn't been doing anything illicit. At first.

She had needs. She wasn't sorry.

She'd broken down in tears in her third week when, completely out of the blue, a gigantic packet of letters arrived at the flat for her.

"Lily?" Dorcas said, walking in and shutting the door behind her, "You've got some post."

She hadn't been expecting anything, had yet to receive a single thing because this wasn't _technically_ her address, but she padded out of her room, and pushed her reading glasses off her face and into her hair. When she saw Dorcas holding an envelope that was absurdly large and covered in little drawings, she knew immediately who it was from.

She thanked Dorcas and retreated to her room, the tears already welling up in her eyes at the stupid little drawings they'd all sketched on the outside of the packet. _The poor postman, honestly._ They'd drawn little animal pawprints and moons ( _Gits_ ) and on the back there was a stick figure group that Marlene, it must have been her because it was legible, had drawn with "LOVE FROM THE FAM" on the back. She started laughing, a deep, belly laugh as she looked at their little group - the messy black haired stick figure was snogging the life out of the red hair stick figure, the Sirius figure had his stick hand on the Remus figure's groin (Remus was smiling but also rolling his eyes in the most perfect picture she'd ever seen of him), and the Marlene figure was standing in the corner looking exasperated and she knew, _knew,_ that they all must have told Marlene exactly how to draw them.

She sat down on her bed, her back up against the wall, opened up the envelope, carefully so she didn't rip any of their drawings, and dumped the contents out beside her. There were pictures, a handful of folded up letters, and a few random bits of paper, and she was near tears again just looking at it all. She grabbed the photos and random papers first, deciding the letters would probably take just a bit more out of her, and flipped through. There were little leaflets from things they were doing back home in London: an exhibition Marlene was putting on for one of her artist friends at the gallery, the first she'd ever commissioned on her own; a flyer for an ecological diversity seminar James was running at the museum. There was also a clipping from the newspaper that mentioned Remus as the lead surgeon on a prominent case, a magazine article about Sirius and his motorbike restoration. Sirius looked so bloody proud in the picture they'd included and she couldn't help but laugh - seeing him standing there in his leather jacket, eyebrow arched perfectly at the camera, leaning casually up against a motorbike that, according to the caption, cost almost £300,000 was just so _Sirius_ that she could barely stand it.

There were pictures of the whole fam at lunch in various flats (her favourite was one Sirius took _in mid bloody air_ while he was diving onto a couch the other three were sitting on), pictures Marlene must have taken of the boys looking out over the Thames and walking through London at various times of day, a picture Marlene had snapped of herself and a paint covered Sirius on what must have been the day she'd thrown her palette at him. _Unless that happened more than once, which is just as likely._

There was also a small stack of photos bound together with a note ( _The fantastically exciting life I'm leading while we're apart xx_ ) which turned out to be a whole series of pictures of James that immediately set her crying. Marlene must have taken them, because she couldn't imagine that James would have asked Sirius to do something he would _easily_ have spent the rest of his life holding over James' head and there's no way Remus would have been able to spare an entire day now that he's famous enough to be doing procedures that end up in newspapers. Judging by the pictures, he must have commissioned her for an entire day, and the absurdity of it all made her laugh while she wiped tears from her eyes.

There were pictures of him on the tube, tapping his Oyster to the reader, standing on the platform, sitting in the train car with a copy of Metro open on his lap. They'd taken pictures of him on the street walking to work, at the Costa Coffee with Frank (including one James must have snapped of Frank and Marlene that had _Now I'm going to learn all about how embarrassing you_ _really_ _were when you two met x_ on the back), pictures of James in the lab. She had no idea how they'd managed to get Marlene in there to take pictures of him (the few times she'd been there, James' colleagues had shot her more glares than she'd gotten in her life, though that probably had more to do with that fact that they'd walked in on them snogging at (rather, on) his desk (multiple times) than anything else). It took her a few to realise it, but once she saw it, she began laughing almost uncontrollably. He'd taken to doing just one weird thing in each picture of him at work - he had a Lego figurine tucked in his hair while he drank his tea, donned a deerstalker cap, pipe between his teeth, while he stood in the brightly lit lab with a petri dish in his purple-gloved hands, put test tubes over his fingers and pretended to type at his computer, screamed while Marlene threw some stuffed animal creature at him from out of frame. It turned out, she'd realised when he set it up with a bowl of food in the next picture, to be a little badger.

Her lungs were burning and her stomach was aching from laughing so hard - _These fucking arseholes are going to get him fired, I swear to christ_ \- but the pictures had done what she was sure he'd intended. She was laughing more than she had in _weeks_ and it was this, more than almost anything else he'd done, that proved to her how much she loved him.

She'd talked to Marlene about it before she'd left, before she'd even found out she would have to come back to Brussels. It had started as a piss-take - Marlene was lounging around on their sofa quoting the sappiest romantic poetry she could remember one morning after James had left their flat to go to work, but when Lily bit her lip awkwardly instead of laughing (or hitting her with a pillow), Marlene had nearly lost it. She'd put the kettle on, run (literally) to Percy Ingle to get iced buns, they sat on the couch, and Lily explained that _Maybe I'm in love with James? I honestly have no idea, Mar, FUCKING HELP ME. IT'S ONLY BEEN A FEW MONTHS, IS THIS EVEN ALLOWED?!_

She thought she'd been in love before, maybe, but the guys she'd dated before had never made her feel the way James did. She had been excited to see those guys after they'd been apart, but with James it was a whole new level of excitement, a feeling that consumed nearly all of her attention. And she felt it every time she saw him, even if they'd only been apart for a few hours while he was at work or she was hiding in the library. He made her laugh, endlessly, took the mick nearly as often, kept her on her toes, wasn't afraid to tell her when she was wrong (usually about her Sherlock theories, but sometimes about other things like why he didn't need to pick his socks up off the floor or why putting his keys in the bowl was _not_ the necessary step she tried to convince him it was). She felt… comfortable, at home with him in a way that she'd never expected to actually feel, like she could tell him anything and it wouldn't make him think about her differently, like he would do anything that he could to support her instead of holding her back. She'd realised, after telling him that she was leaving, that she was, most certainly, in love with him because of that very thing. James had _supported her_ and it felt so ridiculous to even celebrate that because it was just the decent thing to have done, the thing she would have expected of anyone, but she knew that some of the men she'd dated before would have gotten upset, told her that they couldn't believe she was going, made it all about them, discouraged her even. They were ridiculous and stupid and selfish, it was true, but even still - it had made it easier to go knowing that they _all_ supported her, that they were _all_ cheering for her, that they _all_ wanted her to be doing this because they knew what it meant to her.

She'd already been pretty sure about her feelings, but looking at these pictures now, seeing just how much effort he was willing to put in to make her happy (and how ridiculous he was willing to look in the process) just confirmed it. She'd known for a long time, pretty much since they met, that he was willing to do anything for people he loved - his unwavering, boundless support of Remus and Sirius had proven that to her fairly quickly - but feeling that directed towards her…. Thinking back on it now, there were dozens and dozens of other little moments that she hadn't recognised at the time, or at least not fully appreciated - how quickly he memorised how she took her tea, the silly snapchats he'd send her during the day when he knew she was struggling with a chapter, the little kisses he'd text her at random, the way he ran his fingers through her hair while they watched telly, held her hand when they were out, or spun her around the kitchen while they waited for the kettle to boil. It was the little things that all her other relationships had been missing, the quiet reminders that he cared, that her happiness was important to him.

She let out a shakey breath and made a mental note to call Marlene once she'd finished reading their letters. She'd have to thank her for the packet anyway.

She leaned over, set the photographs and leaflets down on her pillow, and grabbed the stack of letters. Remus' letter was on top - he had her screaming with laughter almost immediately:

 _Hi Lils,_

 _Sorry about the letter packet. I had absolutely nothing to do with this, our fam is full of a bunch of fucking idiots, Sirius made me do it, etc etc._

 _Speaking of fucking idiots: I heard James told you about the palette incident. I hope you enjoyed the picture we stuck in there. Marlene somehow convinced Sirius to take a picture with her before he left, but Lily - HE RODE THE TUBE HOME COVERED IN PAINT. He's so fucking mad, I swear, he's lucky I love him. He came home GENUINELY CONFUSED because people on the tube were staring at him and he couldn't figure out why. He also thought that I had burst out laughing the moment I saw him because I was_ _sleep deprived_ _. He has no bloody sense, I swear to christ. He then tried to convince me it was 'sexy body paint'... I still didn't believe him, but that at least went over better ;)_

 _How are you? I'm sure that you're shaking your head like, 'Fucking exhausted, Remus, what do you think?' but you know I have to ask. Oh, while I'm thinking about it - I know that you're probably so tired of seeing books,_ _but_ _if you have the chance, you should stop by my favourite bookshop in Brussels. It's called Ptyx and I think you'll really like it. I dragged Sirius there the last time we were in Belgium and you would have thought I was torturing him (though, full disclosure, we were there for a few hours). Though, now that I'm thinking about it, maybe you used to go there when you lived there? Well, if you haven't been, check it out._

 _Anyway, I miss you, Lils. Hurry up and kick some doctoral defence arse before I kill your boyfriend (and mine); they're both driving me_ _mad_ _because they won't stop talking about you. Sirius has started torturing poor Prongs with these "Lily falls in love with a rouge Frenchman" stories. James, of course, knows you're doing no such thing, but Sirius' stories have gotten rather… detailed… lately. It is a bit fun, though, watching James suffer (and it may or may not be absurdly sexy listening to Sirius speak French - it's complete nonsense, but nonetheless). Anyway, we love you._

 _xx Remus_

Lily grinned, rolled her eyes - of _course_ Sirius was trying to torture James into madness. She flipped to Sirius' letter:

 _Howdy Red,_

 _Remus is trying to convince me that no one says "Howdy," but obviously I just did. And if they didn't already, they will now - I'm a trendsetter._

Lily snorted and mumbled, "Fucking cocky arse prat."

 _I'm sure that by now you've heard of my incredibly sexy exploits with McKinnon's paint palette. I'm honestly surprised it wasn't all over the cover of the Daily Mail that week, but what can you do. I hope you're having fun in Belgium, because I'm about ready to_ _kill_ _James - he's moping around all the time and I know he won't tell you this, but it's true. He won't want to make you feel bad or something (fucking sap), but I'm sick and tired of looking at his sad face, so I don't care. Please finish doing your genius person things so that I can have my mate back, thanks._

 _You'll be happy to learn that we've been keeping up with your lunch tradition since you've been away - I hope you enjoyed the fantastic photograph I included from lunch last week. The others didn't seem too thrilled about the idea, but_ _I_ _thought that it was spectacular. Not sure why they don't appreciate my ideas more - James was all upset like, "You're going to give me a fucking concussion, Padfoot!" but_ _honestly_ _\- he's so dramatic._

 _I'm not one for writing letters (count yourself lucky that you even got this one - I'm only writing it because_ _James refused to leave our flat until I did_ _\- fucking arsehole, your boyfriend (though I've come up with a way to pay him back… sure you've heard. Tell Jacques I said bonjour ;) )) but I'm going on a trip to America next week (they're not even going to know what to do with themselves when they meet me) for some motorbike convention thing (shut up, I know you're laughing). I'll send you some snaps of my adventures. Remus is going to be home alone (well, working his fucking arse off in the hospital like always), so send him some extra messages to keep him company while I'm gone, yeah?_

 _X Black_

Lily laughed - Sirius really did seem to thrive on pestering James. She made a mental note, though, to make sure to text Remus a bit more than she usually would (pretend all he might, Lily knew Sirius was a sap at heart). She set the letter down in the pile on her pillow and grabbed Marlene's letter. It was surprisingly short, but as always, Marlene got right to the point.

 _Lil,_

 _How are you, love? I know you're probably just anxious to get to your_ _lover's_ _letter, so I'll keep this brief. Call me when you're done reading these though - I miss you xxxx_

 _I'm keeping our boys in check, so you don't have to worry. Sirius is on the brink of bloody madness because James is apparently not cooperating with his 'hell-raising standards' or whatever, but I've got him under control. I still have a mean side tackle ;)_

 _I put a leaflet in there for the show I'm commissioning - it's next week and Lily, I'm so nervous but also SO FUCKING EXCITED I can't even. The fam took me out for drinks the day I got it to celebrate and we missed having you there. I think this is why we keep them around, though - they're capable of being sweet (even though they're usually just annoying 99.999999% of the time)._

 _Let me know when your defence is - we're all going to come out there and support you. I know you're being all Lily like and saying, 'No, Marlene, don't trouble yourself, it's not that important,' but shut up, we're all going to be there. We're proud of you and we want to support you. And if you don't tell me when it is, I'll just email your advisor. Don't think I won't._

 _xxxxxx Marlene_

 _Ps. Just FYI - it took James 15 minutes to sign his letter. I screamed when I put it in the envelope_

Well, now she was on the edge of her bloody seat. Screeching excitedly to herself, she grabbed James' letter, the last thing left on the bed - it was _pages_ long. He never was one for concise storytelling, but she couldn't believe that he actually had this much to tell her. She looked at the greeting and was already laughing - _fucking nerd._

 _Salutations Evans Lily Evans,_

 _Did you like the very interesting photograph series I had done? The artist is a great friend of mine and I think she did a brilliant job capturing my essence ;)_

 _I've been sitting here for like, twenty minutes, trying to think of something to write that I haven't already told you when we've talked on the phone (or texted or snapchatted or FaceTimed... you were right, modern technology is making this distance thing a lot easier and maybe letters are a bit obsolete. But I'm_ _also_ _sure that you smiled like mad when you got this packet, so I don't think they're_ _as_ _obsolete as you would like to pretend). OH! Guess what I saw the other day, I can't believe I haven't already told you this… though now that I think about it, it was the day that Mary (you remember Mary from the lab?) and I were working on the red squirrel data and you_ _know_ _how I get about those fucking adorable guys I'M GRINNING STUPIDLY JUST THINKING ABOUT THEM. Anyway - So I went into Costa on the way to work, as always, I guess it was last week, who cares, anyway, I went into Costa and GUESS WHAT FRANK WAS DOING. He was chatting up a woman! A very cute woman, I have to say, but oh my god, was he going for it. She gave him her number! Don't worry - I slagged him off for it_ _so hard_ _and told him that he's never allowed to pester us again. I doubt it will work, but when you come home, you'll have to let him know that you know so that you can torture him too. It's about damn time we evened the score, christ._

 _As you can see from the pictures, we've pretty much been up to the same nonsense that we always are since you left - Sirius is actively trying to kill us (see photograph of him jumping on us), Marlene made us model for her (see photos by the Thames and at various London locales - that was actually fun but please god don't tell her that or she'll make us do it again), I've been putting shit together at the museum, Remus is saving children's lives and being annoyingly humble about it… the usual things. You actually would have_ _loved_ _this seminar I gave last week - I wish you'd come to this one instead of the big data one I gave a few months back. That one was boring as hell (even for me and I wrote the bloody thing) but this one had all kinds of pictures of cute animals (and some insects, which I know you don't like, but they're cool too!). I put in extra hedgehog pics just because I know how cute you think they are (it also made me feel better about the hedgehog numbers I had to present… yikes)._

 _I know that we talk about this all the time and I can feel you rolling your eyes all the way across the channel, but I want you to know that I'm so proud of you. I know that isn't why you're doing this and you don't need me to be proud of you or that it even really matters maybe -_ _wow_ _, I'm mucking this up. I'm just proud of you, okay. And even though I miss you_ _a lot_ _don't let those gits (mostly Sirius) convince you that I'm like… walking around and pouting constantly or something. I'm not (I swear), and even if I were, I don't want you to feel bad. Not that you should! Fuck, I should have thought this through before I started writing because this is now just a bunch of fucking nonsense. If Sirius ever sees this goddamn letter, he'll be quoting it to me for the rest of our lives. Then I'll have to kill him and then I'll have to go to prison and then I_ _really_ _won't get to see you. Speaking of Sirius - I feel like now is a good time to remind you that I looked at all the Bake Off episodes we recorded the other day, and I haven't watched a single one. Hurry back, I need to watch series eight. NOEL BLOODY FIELDING, LILY. I HAVE TO KNOW HOW THIS GOES WITH HIM AS ONE OF THE HOSTS. Also, Sirius is going to ruin it for me eventually and then I REALLY will have to kill him. You know how I get about Bake Off._

 _Maybe I can come out and see you soon - work is… well, work, and I know you're busy, but you let me know when you're free and I'll be there immediately. I do miss you… though our time on FaceTime helps at least a little bit ;)_

 _It's still nothing compared to being with you, though. I miss you surprising me at Costa in the morning before I go to work, how good your hair smells, how you get that_ _look_ _in your eye right before you kiss me, how grumpy you get in the morning before you've had your tea, how bloody amazing it is to wake up with you right there with your arm around my waist. I miss everything - even your_ _outrageous_ _Sherlock theories._

 _Just three more months. xxxxxxxxxx_

 _Love,_

 _James_

She called Marlene immediately after she stopped shaking enough to handle her mobile. She snatched Marlene's letter back out from the pile and read her postscript again: _it took James 15 minutes to sign his letter._

She was mildly, very mildly, hyperventilating.

Marlene didn't even wait for a greeting, she just shouted immediately in Lily's ear the moment she picked up, "DID YOU GET THEM!?"

Lily laughed and pressed the buttons on the side of her phone to turn the volume down, "Yes, I just got them today. Dorcas probably thinks I'm completely mad - I've been in here laughing and crying in turns for the past hour."

"Tell her to bugger off. WHAT DID YOU THINK?!"

Lily knew that she was talking about James' signature, but she decided to see what she could get away with first. "Those pictures you took of the boys were really, really lovely, Mar. Are you getting back into photography again?"

Marlene snorted, "Nice try, Evans. I know what you're trying. Tell me about James' letter."

Lily could hear the raised eyebrows in her voice and sighed. There was no winning with Marlene, not once she knew she had you trapped. "I…" Lily swallowed, tried to stop her hands shaking, "Mar, what if he loves me?"

Marlene scoffed, "'What if?' Lily, please, don't waste my time."

Lily sighed, "No, but okay, what if it's just like. He's being nice?"

"Lily," Marlene's voice is no nonsense now and Lily cringed a bit, "I told you it took him 15 fucking minutes to sign the thing. He was sitting at our table writing it while I sketched out the drawings on the envelope - "

"I loved those by the way."

Marlene snorted, "Stop trying to change the subject."

Lily sighed, "Damn."

"Anyway," Lily knew that Marlene was rolling her eyes and she smiled in spite of herself, "When he got to that last paragraph… I didn't read it when I stuck it in the envelope, I literally just saw his signature, but he sat there with the pen in his fucking hand for like 10 minutes before he wrote the end of that letter."

Lily laughed weakly, "Really?"

Marlene groaned, exasperated at the memory, "Yes! And then he wrote it like someone had lit the end of the pen on fire and he only had a few seconds to write it all out."

Lily looked back at James' letter - the penmanship did look a _bit_ sloppier at the bottom, but James didn't exactly have stellar handwriting to begin with.

"So," Marlene said, and Lily heard her open the refrigerator in the background and she smiled, thinking of Marlene padding around their flat, snacks in hand while they chatted, "what are you going to do about it, Evans?"

Lily was quiet for a moment, ran her fingers over the writing on James' letter. She traced his loopy g's with her index finger, followed the lines of the kisses he'd written in at the end - they were hurried and started to run together and she grinned because he kissed that way in real life, too.

"I…" Lily hesitated, took a deep breath, "Well, you know I love him."

Marlene laughed, "Yes, but I'm glad you're finally saying as much without this 'I think' nonsense in front of it."

"I have to tell him, obviously."

"Obviously," Marlene was talking through food now and Lily's stomach grumbled. She climbed off her bed and wandered out into the kitchen just across from her room - Dorcas must have gone out, because she wasn't anywhere to be seen.

Lily grabbed a packet of chocolate digestives out of the cupboard and put the kettle on, "I don't want to tell him over the phone though. Or in a letter. That seems - "

"Yeah, I get you."

They were both talking through food now. They sat there quietly for a few moments when Lily heard the kettle click off over the phone - "Are you making tea, too?"

Marlene laughed through whatever she was eating, "Of course! You know I have to have tea and Percy Ingle whenever I talk to you."

Lily groaned, clutched her stomach, "I would kill someone for an iced bun right now, holy fuck."

Marlene stuffed another bite in her mouth, "Too bad for you, Evans."

Lily huffed, "You're mean, McKinnon."

Marlene just laughed while Lily set about preparing herself a cup of tea.

When they were both seated, tea and snacks at the ready, they started talking again. "Anyway," Lily said, dipping her biscuit into her tea and taking a bite, "I want to tell him, but it's not something you tell someone over the phone, right?"

"No, you're right," Lily heard her take a sip of tea, "I just don't want you to have to wait until December to tell him."

"Well, maybe I'll just sign my letter back 'Love, Lily,' so he doesn't think that I'm like… I don't know, rejecting him or something and he'll just get the hint?"

Marlene hummed in agreement, "Yeah, but you can't use that as an excuse not to tell him the minute you see him next."

Lily groaned, "Why do you insist on making me have emotional conversations?"

She could hear the smirk in Marlene's voice, "I wouldn't be your best friend if I didn't make you live up to your full potential, love."

Lily wished Marlene was sitting on the couch next to her like she usually was - she would have thrown a biscuit at her head.

They sat on the phone and chatted for a few hours - Lily ate an entire sleeve of biscuits and it sounded like Marlene had eaten at least four iced buns. After begging Marlene to send her a dozen buns at her earliest convenience, Lily hung up the phone and walked back into her room. She gathered up the pictures, letters, and bits of paper and set them on her chest of drawers, but she took James' letter back with her to bed, grabbed a notepad and a pen out of her school bag near the wardrobe.

She flipped to the nearest empty page and, before she could let herself think too much, penned a reply.

 _Greetings Super Fit,_

 _Did I ever tell you that Marlene and I used to call you that? I'd, god, I'm blushing so much writing this and I can hear you laughing at me right now - when I saw you on the train, this is what I started calling you in my head, and it just stuck… Marlene and I used it whenever we were talking about you. Full disclosure - we called you Super Fit in our flat up until she met you. Once she had a face for your name, you became James, but I still like to think of you as Super Fit sometimes._

 _You're going to let this nickname go to your head, aren't you? I should rip this letter up and start over. Though in the spirit of telling you things that I haven't already told you, I suppose it can stay._

 _I'm glad that you included lots of hedgehog pictures in your presentation, though I'm sad that they aren't doing well - I wish I'd been there! Maybe we can start a hedgehog farm out in the country and bring the population back? We can raise red squirrels too! The more I'm thinking about this, the more that I really want to do it - please say yes. I think my family has some property back home that we could buy off them… how do you feel about Yorkshire? Yeah, I thought so - too far. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted._

 _I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU CAUGHT FRANK CHATTING SOMEONE UP! Awww, I'm so happy for him! Tell him I'm happy for him. And give him my number, I want to find out about her! I know you're rolling your eyes, Potter, but I don't care. Go in there ASAP and give him some dating advice (assuming they haven't already gone out) - our first date was_ _pretty spectacular_ _and I think anyone could learn a lot from you ;)_

 _I'm not up to anything too exciting - I just talked to Mar on the phone for a while and now I have the_ _biggest_ _craving for Percy Ingle - she's being mean, though, and has decided that she isn't going to send me any. And here I thought we were sisters. Please tell her that she needs to love me more and convince her to send me a dozen iced buns. And also, please send me some Nandos. Somehow, I'm missing that fucking place. I DON'T KNOW WHO I AM ANYMORE. At least there's a Wagamama's here. I'll do my best to finish this rubbish ASAP - I really, really want to watch Bake Off. It's killing me knowing that I'm missing it._

 _I'm free anytime - when you can be here, I want you here. FaceTime, while bloody amazing, isn't enough. I miss your ridiculous hair, your hands on my hips when we're at the counter making tea (though, really, your hands on me anytime, any place), how you smell like spice and that gel stuff you use in the lab when you get home from work, the way you always put one hand in my hair and another on the small of my back and press me to you when you kiss me. Fuck, James… I miss you so much._

 _Three months can't go quickly enough. xxxxxxxxxx_

 _Love,_

 _Lily_

* * *

Despite Lily's initial jokes about it, letters became - almost - her favourite way to be in touch with him. They still spoke on the phone every day, texted and snapped each other constantly, but letters became a space to share those little, sappier things that didn't always _fit_ in a text message.

It took the post a few days to get back and forth, too, and neither of them were patient enough to save a story for five days so they could write a letter about it. Still, every few days, she would get a small letter, a short thought, a memory, something he missed. And if she hadn't known she loved him before, she certainly would have now.

His notes were a masterclass - she had them all taped up on the mirror in her room, read them every morning. She'd read them a million times, over and over again, but it didn't matter. They gave her that swooping feeling in her stomach every time, like she was falling or flying or something, and she got that stupid smile on her face and she was sure that Dorcas knew how much of a sap was.

His notes, never more than a few lines, were infinitely better than hers. She told him she missed him, told him about particularly dirty dreams she'd had, dropped a few lines onto a piece of paper to tell him something that had reminded her of him. His were similar in theme, but they _destroyed_ her in a way that she was fairly sure hers weren't doing to him -

 _30 September_

 _I woke up this morning just as the sun was coming up - the bright red was_ _almost_ _exactly the same colour as your hair. I spent the whole day thinking about you._

 _All my love -_

 _xxxx J_

 _5 October_

 _I saw an advert for Sherlock today and I thought about you immediately - I still can't believe you buy the Mycroft theory. You're barking. Absolutely bloody barking._

 _All my love anyway (I guess) -_

 _xxxxx J_

 _10 October_

 _I called Mum today and she only wanted to talk about you - can't say I blame her. You're brilliant and stunning and I think about you more and more every day. You're everything._

 _All my love (and Mum's) -_

 _xxxxx J_

 _13 October_

 _I spent all night thinking about the note I got yesterday - trailing my fingers up your thighs is one of_ _my_ _favourite things, too. Though, I prefer using my tongue, if I'm honest._

 _All_ _my love -_

 _xxxxx J_

 _16 October_

 _The next time I see you, I'm kissing every single centimetre of you. I need to feel your skin against mine, hear you make_ _that noise_ _you make that drives me mad. You know the one. Maybe we can coax it out of you on FaceTime tonight? It won't be the same, but it'll have to do._

 _All my love, so much I can barely stand it -_

 _xxxxx J_

 _20 October_

 _I can't get your face out of my mind - seeing you last night reminded me of how stunningly perfect you are. I can't wait to see you again. Hopefully it'll be in person next time._

 _All my love and then some -_

 _xxxxx J_

"Wow, who knew he could be such a sap."

Marlene was chomping on another fucking iced bun, but it was worse because they were on FaceTime today - she could _see_ the iced bun instead of just imagining it. _Bloody bastard._

Lily stuffed another digestive in her mouth - they were good, but they'd been out of the chocolate ones at the shop and she'd had to settle for the plain ones. She'd also been craving bourbons lately, but they hadn't had those either.

"I know," Lily took a sip of her tea, "they're so sweet though, Mar. Like if I wasn't already in love with him -"

Marlene snorted - "I know, you'd be creaming your pants constantly."

Lily choked on the piece of biscuit she'd been eating but she recovered quickly, "Who says I don't now?"

Marlene laughed, "Damn, Evans, you've been talking to Black too much."

Lily laughed, "I like that you're leaving out your influence here, McKinnon."

Marlene shrugged, "Or maybe you were just a secret pervert the whole time."

Lily chuckled, dipped another digestive, "That would explain why you and I get on so well."

Marlene smirked, "True."

They chatted about Marlene's exhibition, some edits Lily had been working on, and Lily had just put the kettle on when there was a knock at her door.

"You expecting someone?" Marlene raised her eyebrow and Lily shook her head, "No… maybe it's the postman or something?"

"Take me with you," Marlene said, pulling her feet up on the couch. "Of course I'm bringing you," Lily said, "Dorcas is out of town, remember?! If I'm about to get murdered I need someone to know about it."

Marlene rolled her eyes, "You're not about to get murdered."

Lily shot her a look, "You don't know that. Just make sure you remember my address and enough French to tell the police to start looking for me."

"Guess you're dead then," Marlene said, laughing, "I don't remember any fucking French."

"Great," Lily deadpanned.

Lily walked through the sitting room, looked through the spyhole, and nearly dropped her mobile in shock. She screamed, "Marlene, I'll call you back!"

Marlene just laughed while Lily dropped her mobile on the table and yanked the door open.

She only saw him for a split second, barely took in his cheeky grin, his chaotic hair, the fact that he was wearing that jumper that she loved. She just screamed, "JAMES!" and pulled him into a bone crushing hug.


	6. Chapter 6

**UPDATED: THANK YOU SO BLOODY MUCH TO MlleMC FOR YOUR CORRECTIONS TO MY FRENCH. YOU'RE MY HERO**

 **Welcome back!** **Wondering what our AU heroes are up to? Would you like a bit of smut? Yes? Okay, here you go.** **I tried to listen to Bruno Mars and write this, but unfortunately, it's nowhere near as sexy as "Versace on the Floor." But also literally nothing is as sexy as that song is, so.**

 **There's like. Other stuff later (like plot or whatever). Enjoy xx**

* * *

"What are you doing here?!" She stepped back a bit, her hands resting on his forearms, and took a good look at him. He was wearing her favourite jumper underneath his long coat, the deep red one that just looked absurdly amazing on him, his jawline was coated in a healthy layer of stubble that made her mouth water. Her body was already zinging with electricity, amplified by the fact that this was completely and totally unexpected. _I am not prepared to deal with him looking this attractive._ _How was I supposed to know I wasn't going to be spending another Friday night alone and pathetic in the flat? GAH I'M NOT READY FOR THIS._

She figured she was gaping at him because he laughed, his mouth hitched up in a knowing smirk, "Well, you said I could come out whenever I could get time away," he stuffed a hand into his hair, "And this weekend, I could." He shrugged nonchalantly, but the silly grin on his face gave him away. Lily grabbed James' hand and dragged him into the flat, shutting the door behind him.

She swatted his chest, "YOU COULD HAVE TOLD ME!"

He grinned, put his hands on her hips, "And miss the look you gave me when you opened the door?" He stepped closer to her and her breath was suddenly shallower. His voice dropped, became rougher, his fingers slid under the hem of her shirt, "Not for anything, Evans."

She tangled her fingers in his hair, pressed him back into the door, and pulled his mouth to hers. He kissed her for a moment, and she thought she might actually die because it was _so much better than I remembered, fucking hell,_ before he chuckled against her lips, planted a kiss on her cheek, and pulled away. She scowled at him, but he just laughed.

"Oh, put that face away, love," he side stepped her, trailing his fingers along her skin before he grabbed the handle of his bag and held it up, shook it enticingly at her, "I have something I think you'll want to see."

"Damn right you do," she moved her hands to the waistband of his jeans and the bag fell from his hands. _I can navigate around a shoulder strap, surely._

He laughed at her insistence, "Are you _sure_ you don't want to know what I have in here?"

She unbuttoned his trousers and grinned at him, "I'm more interested in what you've got in your pants, to be honest."

He laughed, the deep, rich laugh she loved, and she couldn't help but grin at him, "I'm serious," she said, stepping closer and sliding her hands underneath his unbuttoned coat, "Don't make me beg."

James smirked that cocky, lopsided grin that always tied her up in knots, "I don't know, Evans," he stepped closer to her until his chest was grazing hers, "begging sounds like it could get interesting."

 _Cheeky fucking bastard looking at me like that. He knows he's going to kill me._

Lily slid her hands up his chest and James just grinned, planted a kiss on her forehead. She groaned, frustrated, "You fucking tease!"

James laughed, "We're going to fuck, Evans, calm down." _Hearing him say that will never not be hot oh my bloody fucking god._

She must have had quite the look on her face, because he laughed, "I'll just go put this," he jerked a thumb over his shoulder towards her kitchen and she quirked an eyebrow, "It needs to go in the kitchen?"

He grinned, "Curious now?"

She rolled her eyes, "Yes, but it's going to have to wait."

He looked at her for a minute, "Which room is yours?" Lily pointed at the door directly across from the kitchen.

He nodded slowly, his eyes tracing her, "And your flatmate is away?"

Lily smirked, "So you and Marlene _have_ been in communication." James grinned, "Of course we have. You know how devious she is."

Lily laughed, "Yeah, _she's_ the devious one." She shoved his shoulder, "Go put that shit away, Potter."

He took a few backward steps before shooting her a grin and walking into the kitchen. Lily grabbed her mobile off the table by the front door and tapped out a quick message to Marlene - _You prat! You could have told me he was coming._

Marlene's reply was instant - _And ruin the surprise? Never. Also, I believe you have something to tell him? Don't disappoint me, Lils._

Lily swallowed. _Fuck._

James wandered back out the kitchen, bag still slung over his shoulder, and Lily tossed her mobile onto the sofa. He grinned, "Yelling at Marlene?" Lily laughed, "You know me so well."

She stepped forward, without waiting for a reply, put her hands on his cheeks, pulled his mouth to hers. His hands moved immediately to her waist and she smiled against his lips and began walking them backwards into her room.

He let his bag fall from his shoulder, moved his hand from her hip so he could toss it carelessly into a corner. Losing the bag seemed to have flipped a switch - his mouth was a bit more insistent, his hands grasped the hem of her shirt, and he broke the kiss for a moment to pull it over her head and toss it at their feet, before moving his hands to her back and undoing the clasp of her bra.

He moved back a bit to peel her bra off and as soon as it fell to the floor, she slid her hands up his chest, pushed the coat off his shoulders. He shrugged out of it, let it drop, and her hands were already pulling his jumper over his head. She dropped the jumper behind her and James wrapped his arm around her waist, and kissed her - she'd nearly forgotten how bloody electrifying it was to have his skin against hers, to feel the planes of his chest under her fingertips, and she moaned a bit louder than she intended when he ran his tongue along her bottom lip.

He chuckled against her lips, moved his mouth to her neck, "Excited, Evans?" He bit down on the bottom of her earlobe and she groaned, "You know I am, Potter." She moved her hands between them, unzipped his trousers, shoved them down off his hips, taking his pants with them, and pushed his chest so he fell back onto her bed.

James laughed, moved to the edge of her bed, kicked his trousers off and onto the floor at her feet, "Trying to incapacitate me by trapping my legs in my jeans?"

Lily unbuttoned her own trousers, "Shut up, James," and slid them to the floor. He smirked, grabbed her hand, pulled her to him. She only had to lean down just a bit to reach him, and she kissed him for a moment before she pressed her hand against his chest again, "Move back."

He slid across her bed until his back hit her wall, and Lily climbed on the bed, James' eyes tracing her, lighting her skin on fire as she moved, his gaze becoming impossibly darker as she straddled him.

The pause, the temporary distance, calms them both and everything pulls into sharp focus for her, time slows to a crawl. James wraps one hand in her hair, the other presses into the small of her back, and he kisses her, slowly, deeply, building the tension between them. Her hands find purchase in his hair, she angles his head so she can run her tongue teasingly along his lip, and even though she's close to him, she isn't close enough; she presses into him, the friction so close to where it needs to be and she grins when he groans against her lips.

He's overwhelming - the feel of his skin, his mouth, the way his hands are pressing into her, pulling her impossibly closer, the way that he's setting her heart racing, her brain whirling, and she can only think _more, more, more_ and, it isn't surprising, but it still almost knocks her flat, _fucking hell, I love him._

Thinking it again, with her hands in his hair and his on her body, she has to tell him. Partially because Marlene will throttle her within an inch of her life if she finds out she waited, but mostly because she just needs him to know. She needs him to know just how mad he makes her, how a look from him makes her heart feel like it's going to beat out of her chest, how his fingers burning trails across her skin makes her want him so desperately, so much more than she's ever wanted anyone else, how his winks and smiles and laughs tie her stomach up in knots.

She moves her hands from his hair, rests them on his cheeks, and pulls back. He groans and presses his hand into her back, pulling her closer to his chest and tries to kiss her again, but she just smiles, rests her forehead against his, "I have to tell you something."

Her voice is quiet, serious, and his eyes search hers, "Everything okay?"

She smiles, "Yeah, I just... " her heart is flying and she can barely breathe, so she presses a quick kiss to his lips and pulls back because she wants to see his face when she says this, "James," she takes a deep breath, "I love you."

He smiles immediately, the grin filling his face and lighting his eyes, and he moves his hands from her hips, tangles them in her hair, "I love you, Lily. Fucking hell, I love you," and kisses her.

She laughs against his lips and he smiles, pulls back, presses his forehead against hers again, "I love you so, so much."

She wraps her arms around his neck, stupid smile still on her face, "Me too. So much I can't even figure out how to tell you." She's rolling her eyes because it's all so bloody cheesy, but she also can't stop smiling.

He moves one hand out of her hair, cups her cheek, pulls her mouth back to his. He kisses her slowly, but forcefully, like he's trying to show her just how serious he is, prove to her that he meant it when he said that he loved her, but she already knows. It was in the look on his face when she said she loved him, in the smile on his lips when he said it back, in a million other things; she leans into his kiss, presses her hips against him, smiles when he moans into her mouth.

The pace increases rapidly.

She presses her hips against him again, and because he's hard, so fucking hard, and she just has to feel it again, she lifts her hips a bit, grinds against him. He pulls in a shaky breath, moves his hand from her face and slips it between them, sliding his fingers against her and making her groan into his mouth. He's a practiced hand and he finds her clit easily, and it's not long before she has to pull her mouth away from his and he has her gasping for breath.

She needs more, immediately, _yesterday_ , because he's pushing her _rapidly_ towards an orgasm and she needs _more._ She reaches between them and takes him in her hand and he groans, his fingers fumbling against her a bit.

He groans again, "Fuck," and he looks up, his eyes meeting hers briefly, before he leans forward and kisses her, their hands moving awkwardly between them before Lily has had e-fucking-nough. She lifts her hips, positions him, slides onto him, and she has to still his hips for a second because _fucking hell how have I survived without this?_

Lily puts her hands on his shoulders for leverage and lifts her hips before slamming quickly back down and James sucks in a breath, says something that sounds vaguely like, "Fuck," and presses a searing kiss to her neck.

He's meeting her thrust for thrust and she knows that she isn't going to last long, the tension in her abdomen is already so fucking intense that she's desperate for relief. When he swirls his fingers around her clit again, she moans, her head falls back, and she's on the _edge_ \- he knows, he's been here before and he _knows,_ so he does it again and it isn't long before she's clenching down on him, her legs shaking as she moves through it. He moves his hips in faster strokes, meeting her halfway, and it's not long before he stills underneath her, his fingers pressing into her hips, and she rolls off him, back onto the bed.

He slides off the bed and, shooting her an enquiring glance, she points him to the bathroom. He's taking fucking forever, and she groans "By all means, move at a glacial pace - "

He walked back in, laughing, and threw a towel at her, "I know how it thrills you." She snorted and cleaned herself up, tossed the towel onto the floor, and he collapsed onto the bed beside her. He rolled onto his side and rested his head on her shoulder, wrapped his arm around her waist, kissed her neck.

They were quiet for a minute, her fingers tracing patterns across his back, when she felt him smile against her neck, "You love me."

He pulled back and looked at her, and she grinned, "Yeah, you git, I love you."

* * *

An hour or so later, Lily woke up with James' head on her chest, his hair sticking up all over his head. At first, she thought he might be asleep because his breath was slow and steady against her skin, but then she felt his fingertips tracing a pattern on her right hip. She turned her head and he grinned sleepily up at her, "Well, that was a cheeky little nap."

She chuckled and pushed him so that he rolled over onto his back and she curled up into his side, pressed a kiss to his neck, "How long have you been awake?"

He wrapped his arm around her, trailed his fingers up and down her side, and yawned, "Just a few minutes."

She nodded, pressed another kiss to his neck. He turned onto his side and moved his hand up onto her cheek, pulled her mouth to his. He smiled against her lips, "I love you, Evans." She grinned and pulled away so she could look him in the eye, "Are you going to tell me that every five minutes?"

James arched an eyebrow as though he were pondering it, and she pushed his chest, laughing, "You're a git."

He moved his hand to her hip, pulled her back up against him, "A git that loves you very, very much."

She rolled her eyes, but the stupid smile on her face made him kiss her again.

He kissed her slowly, his lips moving over hers purposefully, stoking the fire that always burns just beneath the surface when they're together. Every little thing he did drove her mad - the way his eyes burned into hers just before he kissed her, wound his fingers into her hair, brushed his thumb across the apples of her cheeks, let his mouth wander across her skin. He pushed her onto her back and rolled on top of her, and she groaned into his mouth. His weight was warm and satisfying, and she never could quite believe just how well their bodies fit together. He traced his tongue along her lip, slid his hand up, cupped her breast, and she groaned, deepened the kiss.

He moved his mouth to her neck, she sighed, he smiled against her skin. He took his time, moving down her throat, across her collarbone, along her jaw, and Lily laughed as his stubble scratched against her skin. He raised an eyebrow and she grinned, "Your beard is scratchy."

He smirked, "This beard?" and he dragged his chin lightly down her neck, making her shiver. She laughed, smacked his back, "Yes, you prat! That beard!"

He hummed, "So, if I do _this,_ " he dragged his cheek along her chest and she shrieked, pushed him off her, while he laughed, "You're a fucking wanker."

He grinned, "Not quite, love."

She groaned and pushed his head, but he just laughed, wrapped his arm around her waist to stop her rolling away and buried his face in her neck again.

They laid there quietly for a few moments, when she remembered - "Hey!" James picked his head up and looked at her, "Yeah?"

"What's in the fridge?"

He grinned, rolled off her, and clambered out of bed, "Oh my god, I almost forgot. You're going to love me!"

He bent down and grabbed his pants (Lily laughed, "Nice view!" and he gave her the finger over his shoulder) and slid them on before running out of the room. Lily rolled her eyes, but slid out of bed and grabbed her dressing gown from the hook on the door, knotting it at her waist as she walked out into the kitchen.

James screamed when he saw her, "OI! NO!" Lily laughed, "What?!"

James pointed into the living room, "Go! It's a surprise!"

"James, I'm going to see in two seconds, what's the bloody point?"

He shot her a stern look, "Just go! I'll put the kettle on and be in in a minute."

She rolled her eyes and walked out of the kitchen, "So bloody extra."

"What was that?" She could hear the laughter in his voice, but she still feigned innocence, "Nothing at all, love." He snorted.

Lily flopped down onto the sofa and grabbed her mobile, still lying where she'd tossed it hours before. She tapped out a quick message to Marlene, _I told him. It went... really, really well ;)_ and clicked the television on. "What are you in the mood to watch? There's…" she flipped through the channels, "There are some old episodes of Downton Abbey on if you want to watch something English or…" she flipped through some more channels, "Oh, Le meilleur pâtissier! If you want to watch a baking show, we can watch this! This episode is almost over, but there's another one after this."

Her mobile pinged - it was just an incoherent string of capital letters and emojis. Lily smirked.

"Yeah," James called, it sounded like he was opening all the cabinets in her kitchen, "let's watch that!"

She tossed the remote back onto the table and leaned back on the couch, replied to Marlene _Do I need to call an ambulance? Are you having a stroke?_ "Are you _sure_ you don't want help?"

She heard him set something, probably a plate, on the worktop, and open the fridge, "No, I got it. I know my way around a kitchen, Evans Lily Evans."

She rolled her eyes, but settled in to watch people making giant pâte à choux structures while James continued banging around in the kitchen. Her mobile pinged - _YOU'RE TELLING ME EVERYTHING WHEN HE LEAVES ON SUNDAY._ Lily chuckled quietly, _Of fucking course I am. Xx_ and she set her mobile on the side table.

James walked out of the kitchen a minute later, a plate in one hand, one resting on his forearm, and two mugs of tea in his other hand. "Oh. My. God," Lily hopped up off the couch, grabbed the tea from his hands and walked back over to the couch, "YOU BROUGHT ME NANDOS? AND PERCY INGLE?!"

James grinned, set the plates down on the table. Lily immediately stuffed an iced bun in her mouth, "If I didn't love you before, I would be _so_ in love with you now."

James snorted and pulled two forks out of his trouser pocket and handed her one. "Fuck, thanks!" She picked up the Nando's plate, leaned back onto the couch and James sat down next to her.

She scooped up rice and speared a piece of chicken, stuffed it into her mouth, "Did you get a whole chicken?"

James nodded and said, "Yeah," through an equally full mouth of food.

"You're fucking amazing, you know that?"

James grinned, shrugged casually, "Yeah."

Lily snorted, flicked a grain of rice at him, and burst out laughing when it got stuck in his hair.

"Hey," James said, ruffling his hair, "I didn't bring spicy rice all the way from England for you to throw it at me."

Lily rolled her eyes, "Stop acting like you crossed the damn world. You rode a train for two hours."

"And then," James sighed dramatically and stuffed another piece of chicken in his mouth, "I was practically accosted when I got here by some sex-deprived woman."

Lily choked on a bite of rice, "Oh, yeah," she said, jabbing him in the thigh with her fork, "I accosted you."

James laughed and slung his arm over her shoulder, "It's alright, love. You can accost me anytime."

She scoffed, but settled into his side and stuffed another bite of rice into her mouth. They sat nestled on the couch, stuffing food into their mouths, and shouting at the telly through the entire hour long episode of a show that James didn't understand a bloody word of. Despite not understanding more than a few words of French, he was able to get the gist of what was going on - and watching Lily was more entertaining for him anyway. Ruth, an immediate favourite of Lily's, was having some difficulties with her cake halfway through the new episode and Lily was absolutely beside herself. She stuffed the last bite of chicken in her mouth, gestured wildly at the tv as she set their plate down ,"Vas-y! Allez Ruth!"

James snorted, "What was that, Evans?" Lily laughed, "Shit, sorry. I'm just used to speaking French when I hear other people speaking it now."

James nudged her with his elbow, grabbed two iced buns off the other plate in front of them, "No worries, love. It's kind of hot." He winked, she rolled her eyes at him and snatched an iced bun out of his hands.

They hadn't known each other during last year's run of Bake Off, but Lily had regaled him with story after story of her dedication (he'd also seen it first hand when she and Marlene got into shouting matches about Selasi, though those were largely over who fancied him more). He, too, was obsessed with the bloody show, but by the end of the episode of what, to James, looked like Belgium's version of Bake Off, Lily had proven just how serious she was. "Quoi!" she pointed forcefully at the screen, stuffed another bun in her mouth, "Le gâteau qu'elle a fait était super!"

James laughed, "Now you're just doing it on purpose."

Lily shrugged, but the smirk on her face made him shift in his seat so her was facing her, "Je ne sais pas de quoi tu parles, James."

She was laughing when he pressed his mouth to hers.

* * *

When they woke up on Saturday morning, Lily practically shoved James into the shower and bounced around the flat while she made tea.

He was really tired (and really not amused) when she'd dragged him out of bed, but the shower seemed to have calmed him down a little… it at least woke him up a bit more. James padded out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist, and Lily handed him a cup of tea when he dropped a kiss on the side of her neck. "Why do we have to be up at this god forsaken hour?"

Lily rolled her eyes, "It's seven thirty."

"Yeah, that's six thirty my time!"

"You were the one that said you wanted to see Brussels today."

He groaned, "I just didn't think we'd have to be up this bloody early."

"You're annoying when you haven't eaten. We're going to get breakfast, but eat some of this before I kill you." She handed James a box of Wheetabix, kissed his cheek (ignoring the scowl on his face), and left so she could pop into the shower.

It was just gone eight when they walked out onto the sidewalk outside Lily's building. James linked his arm through hers and smiled, much happier now that he had a cuppa tea and a bit of food in his stomach. "Where are we headed, love?"

She grinned, "Café Belga, it's just a few blocks away from here."

"And," James picked up the bag on her shoulder, "why are you bringing this giant bag?"

Lily laughed, "Because I know that a few of the places I want to bring you sell things we like and I know _us_." James grinned, "We are a bit spendy with some things, aren't we?"

It was a slightly grey morning, and though the air was crisp, it wasn't cold or windy like it had been so often lately. Lily pointed out a few places she visited whenever she was here, the gallery she and Marlene always visited during her first few years here, the café near her flat that had the best tea she'd been able to find in the city, the plaza nearby that was always, _always_ busy, but was also pretty conducive to writing. As much as she missed London, especially now, she would always love Brussels - getting to show James all the things she loved about the city that was her second home brought an excited flush to her cheeks and made her even bouncier, more energetic than normal. The fact that he was looking at her with a mixture of amusement and adoration and love just made her all that much more excited.

They finally made it to the café (James' stomach was growling again and Lily was howling with laughter, "You just bloody ate!") and James grabbed a table out front while Lily pushed her way to the bar and ordered them breakfast. She came back a few minutes later, her cheeks flushed from the heat inside the building, two mugs of tea and a plate of croissants balancing in her arms.

"So," James was going to ask her about their plans, but when he stuffed a bite of croissant in his mouth, he groaned, "holy FUCK this is amazing!" Lily grinned, popped a bit into her mouth, "Told you it was worth getting up this early."

James nudged her arm so it fell off the table and she laughed, "Don't be bitter, Potter. Just admit you were wrong."

He grabbed a pan au chocolat off the plate between them and took an experimental bite. His eyes practically rolled back in his head, "I was wrong."

James got them another round of tea, and they ate pastry, took silly Instagram pictures and Snapchats, and shot jokes, winks, sassy comments back and forth until mid-morning. Lily had to practically _drag_ him away from the café, "Liiiiilyyyy… I'm not done!"

Lily rolled her eyes, laughed, "James, you were _just_ saying that you didn't think you could eat anymore without throwing up."

"I was a fool! I'm ready to eat more!" He looked over his shoulder longingly.

She gripped his hand tighter in hers and dragged him up the street, "We'll come back tomorrow morning, James. I have things to show you, you can't be vomiting croissants all over Brussels."

He sighed, took his hand from hers and slung it over her shoulders, "I guess you're right."

She smirked up at him, bumped her hip against his, "I always am, Potter."

He squeezed her shoulder, "Yeah, yeah, yeah."

They walked a few blocks over the Ptyx (Lily snapped Remus a bunch of pictures of James posing _very_ dramatically in front of the building) and browsed for a bit. Lily largely left James to wander, and a half an hour later, James found her over in the corner of the shop, reading glasses on, curled up in a winged arm chair, absorbed in a book.

"What are you reading?"

She held up the book so James could read the title, but kept reading. It was in French, so he had absolutely no bloody idea what it said. She finished her paragraph and closed the book, "I'm getting this."

"What is it?" Lily pulled her glasses case out of her bag on the floor and put her glasses away, "Oh, it's a book about Belgian politics."

James laughed, "Of course it." Lily grinned, looked down at his hand and saw he was holding a few books, "What have you got?"

He held up the top book and Lily recognised the painting on the cover _immediately._ "Why are you getting a book on René Magritte?" She made her pronunciation obnoxiously French and James smirked at her, "This is that guy that Mar loves, yeah? I saw it and thought I'd bring it back for her."

She grinned, and James held up the next book, " _This_ is that book on microbiomes I wanted to buy last year but never got around to it. And this," he held up the last book, "is that extinction book that won the Pulitzer a few years back."

Lily grinned, "So a gift for Mar and a bunch of books you've been meaning to buy?" James laughed, "Essentially. I'm just amazed they have books in English, so I feel like I need to buy them. Then I can say I bought them _abroad_." He waggled his eyebrows at her and she rolled her eyes.

They bought the books, Lily stuffed them into her bag, fought off James' attempts to take the bag from her and carry it himself, and took his hand. "Now," she smiled up at him, "We can either catch the bus or walk up to Le Sablon."

"We should walk! It's fucking beautiful out, and it would be nice to see the city a bit more."

Lily grinned and started walking up the street, "Okay, but it's like 2km."

James rolled his eyes, "I'm a former footballer, Evans, 2km is nothing."

Lily snorted, "You played football until sixth form, that was ages ago."

James gasped, "Oi! I was a _brilliant_ footballer. And you know _full well_ that I still play sometimes."

Lily smirked, "Yeah, with like 40 something has-beens."

James' offended look sent her into a paroxysm of laughter and he just let go of her hand, tucked her head under his arm, "I'll let you up when you apologise, Evans."

She was too busy laughing to get a word out, and James continued up the street with her head tucked under his arm, much to the confusion of the people around them. Finally, Lily managed to settle herself down enough, "Alright, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He let her up and planted a kiss on her cheek.

Lily took a step away from him and grinned, "I'm sorry that the only people willing to play footy with your sorry arse are 40-year-old washups."

"Evans!"

They finally, after many piss takes, headlocks, and smacking, made it to Le Sablon.

It was, per usual, packed, but this didn't seem to bother James in the least. His eyes flickered around to all the brightly decorated shops before he turned to Lily and beamed, "Can we go to that chocolate shop over there?!"

When she shrugged and said, "Sure," James grabbed her hand and practically took off running (despite her many protests and shouts of " _Bloody hell,_ James, your legs are a lot longer than mine, slow down!").

He was thrilled when he realised that all the chocolate shops in the square offer samples, and he dragged Lily through each of them to make sure they'd "scoped out the situation." Of course, it really just ended up being an excuse for James to buy as much chocolate as they could carry.

"Remus would _love_ this place," James said, stuffing a truffle in his mouth at the first place they'd walked into. He moaned and pointed at mouth, "We need some of these!"

He bought the biggest box they sold.

They visited four more chocolate shops and each time, James walked out with a giant box of _something_ \- he got more truffles, as many bars of dark and milk chocolate as he could hold ("Stop looking at me like that, some of this is for Remus!"), at least a dozen chocolate oranges ("James, they sell these back home, and you love them." "I KNOW, BUT LILY THESE WERE TRANSCENDENT!"), and some random chocolates with a bright green filling that freaked Lily out but James insisted were "So delicious, Lily, OH MY GOD!"

He ended up dumping all the chocolate in her bag and Lily pushed the bag into his arms, "I'm not a pack mule, James. You can carry this shit now."

He didn't seem to mind in the least - especially because he kept buying shit and trying to stuff it in there.

He bought a ridiculously touristy mug for himself ("You know I collect these, Lils."), an absurdly expensive snow globe for his mum ("She collects them!" "You two are weird."), and a bottle of Genever for Sirius ("See, this gift makes the most sense to me." "Hey, my other gifts make sense too!").

By the time they wandered back to her flat late that afternoon, James' shoulder was aching and he was moaning about being hungry again.

"Alright, alright," Lily said, smiling through her exasperation as she opened the door to her flat, "I have a pub I wanted to take you out to tonight anyway.

"Brilliant," James dug into the bag at his side and grabbed a truffle, stuffed it in his mouth.

"James," she said, laughing and rolling her eyes, "I just said I'm going to take you to get food. Stop eating!"

"I can't," James grabbed another one from the bag and stuffed it into his mouth, "They're just so bloody good."

"Well, get me a few at least."

James shot her a winning smile. Lily smacked his chest, but accepted the truffles eagerly when he handed them to her.

They walked into her room, James dumped the overflowing bag onto the floor, and he grabbed Lily around the waist, fell back onto the bed. She shrieked as they fell and James chuckled against her neck as he pressed himself against her side.

She smacked his arm, "You're a berk."

He pressed a kiss to her neck before moving back to look at her, "A berk that loves you."

"You're making me regret ever telling you I love you," she said. He smirked, rolled on top of her, ran his hand along her side underneath her jumper. He broke into a full grin when her breath caught in her throat and he pressed his forehead to hers, "You don't regret it one bit."

* * *

The next morning, Lily took James back to Café Belga, as promised, and James bought nearly every pastry they had in the shop.

He'd spent the walk from her flat having Lily read street signs and repeating them back to her, trying to do his best to imitate her throaty French accent. After about the fifth sign, James declared himself an expert in the language (Lily nearly died laughing), and decided that he would order for them when they got to the café.

When they got there, though, James seemed to realise how difficult his self-imposed assignment was going to be, and she couldn't help but laugh at the amused expression the man behind the counter was giving him as he struggled to pronounce some of the names of things he wanted. 'Croissant' and 'pan au chocolat' were familiar to him, but ordering the puff pastry he wanted (and had spent the entire time in the queue lusting after) nearly sent him into a fit, "Deux…" he looked at Lily and she grinned, nodded, "Pate few-la-tea?"

Lily laughed, James groaned and shook his head at the man behind the counter, "Pardon," and pointed at Lily over his shoulder. Lily grinned, laid a hand on his arm, planted a kiss on his cheek, "No worries, love. Just go grab us a table, yeah?"

James had his hand in his hair when she came back, clutching two mugs of tea and a plate stacked high with pastry. She patted his thigh as she sat down and he grinned at her, "I guess we'll just have to leave the French to you, eh?"

She laughed and stuffed a bite of croissant in her mouth, "Guess so."

James sighed theatrically, "Ah, there's the sexy French woman I love." Lily gave him the finger and James laughed, poured a measure of milk into both their mugs.

On the way out, James bought an entire bag full of pastry (Lily was fairly sure the man behind the counter had stuffed in a few extra because he still felt a bit bad about earlier) and they wandered back to her flat to drop everything off before they took one last turn around her neighbourhood. His train was due to leave in the early afternoon, so they couldn't go far, especially because she was keen to work in some _other_ activities before James got back on the train to London.

They walked to the small park near her flat and sat outside for a bit, enjoying the rare autumn sun. They sat on a bench in the centre of the park, the trees buffering out the sound of the cars on the roads surrounding them. They sat sideways on the bench, James' left leg on the ground, his right tucked up under him, Lily's left leg beside his hip. He reached out and grabbed her hands in his, "Guess what?"

Lily knew what was coming, but she smiled anyway, "What?"

His eyes were warm amber fire and his fingers burned a trail across her skin as he let go of her hand, moved his hand to her neck, "I love you."

He pressed his mouth to her laughing lips and it wasn't long before they were engaged in some full-fledged snogging like a pair of teenagers.

A few hours later, though, standing at Brussels-South station, it felt like every bit of happiness had been crushed out of her.

She had his chocolate bag over her shoulder (because he'd had to take one of her extra rucksacks to carry home all his souvenirs) and had threatened more than once to refuse to hand it over when it was time for him to get on the train. James had just laughed, reminded her that Remus was more than willing to come over here himself and pry the chocolate from her cold, dead, hands if that's what it came to, so she resorted to telling him all the other things they could do if he stayed longer.

"I wanted to take you to the Musée des Sciences Naturelles and to this little English pub I used to go to years and years ago when I first moved here and, ugh, so many other things! You'll just have to stay for another week." Lily tried to smile innocently, but James grinned at her - he knew what she was up to. He tugged on her hand a bit so she took a step closer to him, "I'll be back in December, if not before. It's just a few weeks from now."

"I know," she sighed, brushed her hair back off her forehead, "I just really wanted you to see it while you were here, but we never got around to it." James grinned and stepped forward so he was flush against her, "We got around to a lot more important things, love."

She thought back to the afternoon they'd spent tangled up in her sheets, his mouth and hands on every centimetre of her skin, and she smiled, weaved her fingers in the hair at the base of his neck, "True."

"See," James leaned down and nuzzled his nose against hers, "I knew you'd come round."

"Well, after your showing this afternoon, I'd say I did a lot of coming today."

James laughed brightly, pressed a lingering kiss to her lips, rested his forehead on hers, "That you did."

They announced that his train was boarding and Lily's stomach clenched. She wasn't ready for him to leave, wasn't ready to walk back to her flat (alone) and sit there (alone) until Dorcas got back tomorrow afternoon. Being alone was going to be annoying enough, but it was being without James, specifically, that she realised she was going to find the most frustrating. She'd gotten used to having James around again, to seeing him every day, hearing his laugh bouncing off the walls of her flat, tossing food at his stupid head, waking up next to him with surprising rapidity. She'd settled back into their relationship the moment James had walked through the door, and part of that was comforting. She had missed him, endlessly, and she was glad to discover that the distance, the time apart, hadn't made being around him weird. But she knew, now that she'd seen him again, that watching him leave was going to be harder this time, that she was going to miss him, crave him, more than she already was.

 _One more month._

She closed her eyes, pressed her mouth to his, kissed him slowly. He sensed the shift and his hands moved to her waist, his fingers pressing gently into her hips as he pulled her tighter against him. Lily pulled away, smiled softly at him, "Guess what?"

"What?" he was whispering, creating an intimate bubble around them in the midst of the madness of the station. She pulled his mouth back down to hers and breathed "I love you," against his lips.


	7. Chapter 7

**Jumping on the social media bandwagon very quickly in the beginning of this chapter - let me know how much you hate it in the review. (Also, thanks to professor-riddikulus for the BRILL Twitter handles. The shitty ones are mine, the sassy genius is theirs). FF is STUPID about displaying these, so Twitter handles are just going to be in underline text because I'm tired of messing with this stupid text formatter.**

 **Also - this will be the last chapter for a bit. It's nearly the end of term and your girl has seminar papers to write. I know, I'm crying too. BUT - I'll be back around mid-May with more Jily sass (I already know what happens next, so as soon as I'm back, I'll be BACK). So hopefully you stick with me xxxxx**

* * *

November dawned crisp and cold in Brussels, but Lily was rarely outside enough to notice. She spent almost all her time in the library or in her flat, only venturing outdoors to commute between the two or stop at a café, any café, and drink as much tea as she could manage.

The Wednesday after James had left, she submitted her final edits to her advisor and was waiting not even remotely patiently to get her final revisions and begin prepping for her defense. Luckily, thankfully, she still had the fam to distract her while she waited - her Twitter mentions, her messages, her Snapchat, and her postbox were routinely full of love and nonsense that took her mind away from the otherwise _incredibly_ stressful wait.

1 November 11:30

.LilyEvans Some of these kids loved hedgehogs more than you do xx "NHMScience: Our very own naturallyJames brought a few furry (and spiky) friends to Mayville Primary to teach kids about protecting local wildlife"

naturallyJames not a chance - no one loves hedgies more than I do

LilyEvans no one loves YOU more than I do

naturallyJames LilyEvans GAG ME

QueenMarlene No one invited you into our love, McKinnon

LilyEvans you invite everyone when you put it on Twitter, Evans

3 November 19:25

. LilyEvans is a cruel horrible fuckwit and we're no longer friends

Worthyofappaws \- can you not? I use this professionally?

LilyEvans maybe don't forget my birthday if you don't want me to sass you across social media?

Worthyofappaws …. Go get your post, you twat

LilyEvans ! A MOTORBIKE PIN FOR MY JACKET?! AND MORE BOOZE?!

Worthyofappaws \- yeah, so fuck off. You're welcome btw

LANGUAGE LilyEvans \- you use this for work!

Worthyofappaws I hate you

3 November 20:18

Got this sexy pin from my sexy (but not as sexy as me) bff LilyEvans \- DrRJLupin and I are going to drink all this booze now byeee

Worthyofappaws LilyEvans SIRIUS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS

DrRJLupin Worthyofappaws Give it up, Remus, you know he doesn't care about ruining our careers

Don't worry LilyEvans DrRJLupin I'll be your sugar daddy

Hey LilyEvans, do you think I can block him or?

DrRJLupin \- do it

DrRJLupin LilyEvans I hate you both. Lupin, we're getting divorced

Worthyofappaws we aren't married yet?

DrRJLupin SEMANTICS

 _5 November_

 _Well, I guess it's technically the 6th now. The fireworks were lovely tonight, but they had nothing on you. I hope this note made you smile - I miss that smile every day. FaceTime me as soon as you get this._

 _Guess what? xxxx J_

6 November

Opened

You took a screenshot!

Opened

You took a screenshot!

Opened

You took a screenshot!

Opened

You took a screenshot!

Sirius: EVANS! STOP SCREENSHOTTING MY SNAPS

Me: STOP SENDING ME SEXY PICTURES OF JAMES IF YOU DON'T WANT ME TO SCREENSHOT THEM

Sirius: I'm not sending you sexy pictures of James?

Me: … He's in them. Every picture of James is a sexy picture of James

Sirius: God, you need to get fucked again if you think he looks hot rn

Sirius: He's hungover and ugly in all of these

Opened

You took a screenshot!

Sirius: GOD DAMN IT EVANS

Me: Not sorry, Black

 _iMessage - 8 November_

 _Marlene McKinnon:_ I'm going to kill this fucker, Lily, I swear to CHRIST

 _Lily Evans:_ What did Pads do now?

 _Marlene McKinnon_ : HE SPLATTED HIS PAINT COVERED NAKED BODY ALL OVER THIS GIANT CANVAS I JUST BOUGHT

 _Lily Evans:_ WHAT

 _Marlene McKinnon:_ EVEN WORSE, IT ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE ART

 _Lily Evans:_ I don't even want to know the backstory here, do I?

They were idiots, the whole bloody lot of them, but they also made it so much easier for her to wait around for her advisor without going completely mad. When she got her edits back on the 9th, she practically went underground - just sent James a text, shut her mobile off, and stashed it in the back of her wardrobe:

 _iMessage - 9 November_

 _Lily Evans:_ Got my edits back - I'm shutting my mobile off until they're done. I'll FaceTime you the minute I'm finished?

 _James Potter:_ Got it love - I have faith in you and your fucking genius. I'll try to keep Pads/Mar from snapping you every five secs

 _Lily Evans:_ Brills - guess what? xxxx

 _James Potter:_ Love you ;)

It took her three days, three days of eating nothing but crisps and takeaway, but she finally, _finally,_ finished her edits and sent it out to her committee for the final time. She was still living in the library, reading (and re-reading) her sections again, trying to make sure that she kept up with the news so she could talk about anything that might happen over the course of the next month, still drowning herself in tea at the start of every morning, but at least now the end was in sight.

 _Group Message "The Fam" - 22 November_

 _Lily Evans:_ I've booked my defense date…

 _James Potter:_ WHEN

 _Marlene McKinnon:_ ALSDASLDKJFLAJSDF

 _Remus Lupin:_ CONGRATS!

 _Lily Evans:_ THANKS! 13 December - just before the end of term

 _Sirius Black changed the group name to no one cares about your fucking exam Evans_

 _Lily Evans:_ Oh, guess you're not invited to my booze filled party then, dick

 _Sirius Black changed the group name to Congrats lovely Lily, genius and love of my life_

 _Lily Evans:_ Damn right

She'd settled down for a while, gone to dinner with Dorcas, actually remembered to call her parents (and James' mum), spent more than five waking hours out of the library. But the closer the 13th got, the more and more nervous she became. By the 6th, she was ignoring messages (" _URGENT! EVANS! - Sirius has convinced James and Mar that you're dead in a ditch and now they're ALL freaking out. Please text them back before I kill them. They've had me paged three fucking times ALREADY tonight to talk about 'recovery plans'."_ ), by the 8th she was back to a diet composed almost exclusively of tea and the shittiest crisps in the shop (" _Mar! My lips are burning again!" "I told you to stop eating those vinegar crisps, you fucking idiot."_ ), and by the 11th, her communication was limited to bits of the introduction she'd prepared and answers to questions she imagined her committee would ask her during her defense.

On the morning of the 13th, she donned the "casual, cool, professional academic look" she'd 'asked' Marlene to advise her on (on FaceTime for two hours), ate a few nervous bites of toast, drank a pot of tea. Her mobile beeped in her pocket just before she had to walk out her door at half ten -

 _Group Message "The Fam" - 13 December_

 _James Potter:_ I know you're freaking out. Relax love - you're the brightest person I know.

 _Remus Lupin:_ You'll be so brilliant they're all going to be knocked out of their fucking chairs.

 _Marlene McKinnon:_ YOURE GOING TO KILL IT MATE

 _Sirius Black:_ TAKE NO PRISONERS, RED

 _Sirius Black changed the group name to being supportive is so fucking awkward_

 _Lily Evans:_ GAHHHH THANKS GUYS

 _James Potter:_ Guess what xxxxxxx

 _Remus Lupin:_ Ugh god Prongs get out of here

 _Lily Evans:_ I love you xxxxxxxxxx

She grinned and stuffed her mobile into her bag, shouted her goodbyes to Dorcas ("Good luck, Lily!") and ran out of the flat. She tried to take deep, steady breaths as she walked the half kilometre to her building, tried to keep from being the hyperventilating sack of nerves that she felt like she was. She climbed the stairs _It's not until half eleven, you have 30 minutes, relax, relax, relax,_ opened the door and walked inside.

She was still nervous, still so bloody nervous, but now that she was climbing the stairs to her room (a walk she'd, very embarrassingly, done a few times as practise) she felt a calm start to settle over her. She'd worked for four and a half years on this bloody PhD thesis, she'd _busted her fucking arse_ on this project and she knew what she was talking about. She was still nervous, this was the test, the final hurdle to jump over to see if she could be done with this fucking thing already, but she was _ready._

She stopped in front of the solid oak door, took a final deep breath, straightened her back, lifted her chin, and walked into the room. It was empty, as she'd thought it might be, except for a small grouping of chairs and a wooden podium at the front… with a white box and a note folded and standing up on top.

She glanced around the room again, a bit confused, and walked over to the note. There was nothing on the front, so she flipped open the flap, and immediately broke out into a ridiculous grin -

 _Evans Lily Evans - I think the game will be up after this, but I know you probably haven't eaten._

 _Guess what? xxxxxx J_

She opened the box, tears already forming in the corners of her eyes, and laughed, "A blueberry fucking scone."

"Our secret's out now, Evans. We might have to flee the country in a minute."

Her head snapped up and she smiled broadly - she hadn't heard anyone walking down the corridor outside, but James was standing there in _that red jumper_ again, a cocky smirk on his lips, his hand in his hair, and she crossed the room and pulled him into her arms before he had the opportunity to open his stupid mouth and say anything else. She pressed her mouth to his and felt him smile against her lips. He kissed her for a moment before pulling back, pressing his forehead to hers, "As much as I'd _love_ to continue this, I brought some friends with me and I _really_ don't know that they'd want to walk in on us."

"What - "

The door behind them opened a bit wider and Sirius, Remus, Marlene, and _her parents_ came striding through. She shrieked, "MUM! DAD!" a bit louder than she'd intended and flew over to them immediately, wrapped them both up in her arms while her dad laughed and patted her on the back, "Hey, kid."

"How in the _world_ did you guys get here?!"

Her mum pulled back and grinned at Lily, "Well, James called us a few weeks back and asked if we would be up for a trip to the continent," her mum's gaze shifted behind her and Lily turned and saw James, his cheeks flushed a bit, his hand stuffed in his hair again. She brought her eyes back to her mum, but not before catching Sirius' eye (he rolled them _very_ dramatically and she grinned), "God, I'm just. MUM!" She pulled her mum into a hug again and she laughed, "Don't thank me, Lily, thank that man of yours." She pulled away and looked admonishingly at Lily, "We'd never have known this was happening if it weren't for him."

Lily flushed, "I… I didn't think… with Petunia…"

Her dad frowned, "Your sister can be a right git, but that's not stopping me from watching my baby get her PhD."

"Oh!" Her mum swatted her dad's chest but he shot Lily a wink.

"Oh, and you guys!" Lily turned and pulled Marlene, Remus, and Sirius into hugs in turn, "So, I guess you've all been introduced now?" She stepped back towards James, wrapped her arm around his waist, and looked between them all. Her dad nodded, "Yeah, we got to know each other fairly well on the train ride over."

She shot a look at Sirius and he grinned impishly, "I was on my _best_ behaviour, Red."

Lily's mum laughed, her cheeks flushed a bit, "He really was. Your friends are _very_ charming, Lily." Lily rolled her eyes, "Please don't tell Sirius he's charming, it will just inflate his already outrageous head."

Sirius barely bit back a smirk and winked at Lily over her mum's shoulder. Luckily, Remus noticed and elbowed him in the side. Lily's mum smiled, "Yes, Sirius was quite the charmer, but I have to say, I think Remus might be trouble." Her mum turned and winked at Remus, who flushed, shifted his weight awkwardly, "Believe it or not, Mrs Evans, I'm the good one."

Her mum laughed, "Oh, I highly doubt that dear."

Lily groaned, "Alright mum, stop chatting up my mates."

Lily's dad laughed, a loud, rich laugh that was so much like her own, "You should have seen her on the train, Lils. These poor boys didn't know what to do with themselves."

"Well," Marlene laughed, "Sirius enjoyed himself."

Sirius shrugged, "I just appreciate it when people understand how bloody amazing I am."

They all laughed and Remus dropped an arm around Sirius' shoulders, pressed a kiss to the side of his head, "Yes, yes, Pads, you're a perfect Prince Charming."

Lily checked her watch and James pressed his fingers into her hip, looked down at her, "How long?"

Lily frowned, "Ten minutes."

James smiled, "You'll do _brilliantly_ love. These things are usually just a formality anyway. They wouldn't let you do this if they didn't think you were ready."

Lily nodded, "Yeah, you're right. And it's just going to be a conversation. Nothing to get worked up about."

James pressed a kiss to her temple, "Exactly. Alright," he turned and addressed the group at large, "We'll all go wander around for awhile and you text me as soon as you're done?"

Lily nodded, pulled away from James and grabbed everyone else in hugs again, "Thank you for coming, seriously." Sirius smirked before her wrapped his arms around her and crushed her to him, "I think you mean _Siriusly_."

She pulled back and swatted him, but he just laughed, pressed a kiss to her cheek, "Show these fuckers who's boss, Red."

Lily laughed, pulled her parents in another hug, her dad patted her hand, "You'll be brilliant, Lils. We're so proud of you."

"Alright, alright," she looked up and blinked because _tears were imminent_ , "I'll see you guys soon!"

They turned to walk back into the corridor, but Lily reached out and grabbed James' hand, pulled him back and wrapped her arms around him once more. She pressed her face into his chest, "Thank you so, so much, James."

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, "It's nothing, love. We wanted to come support you."

She stood on her toes, pressed a lingering kiss to his lips, "Thank you." He hummed against her lips, pressed a bit closer to her, and she pulled back, pressed her hand into his chest, laughed, "Later, Potter."

He grinned wickedly, "I'll hold you to that, Evans." He kissed her one last time and stepped back, "Alright, good luck, love."

She grinned, walked him back to the door, "Thanks. Hey, take them to the café, you can order food for everyone." She winked and he groaned, "You're never going to let me forget that will you?"

"I wouldn't be doing my job if I did."

He rolled his eyes, but pressed one final kiss to her lips and walked out of the room, pulling the door shut behind him so she was alone again. She took a deep breath, sifted through her notes, and ran through her speech once more in her head.

* * *

Two hours and a lot of handshaking later, Lily was doing her best to keep it together.

She pulled her mobile out of her pocket, her hands shaking violently, and texted James. _Lily Evans, PhD would like to know where to meet you! Xxxxxxxxxxxxx_

James texted her back immediately - _WE'RE DOWNSTAIRS XXXXXXXX_

Lily sprinted down the stairs and into the entry space below, "I DID IT!"

Marlene was the first one in her arms, squealing and jumping up and down, "I knew you would, I'm so proud of you!" Marlene, eventually, let go so Lily could hug everyone else, though it wasn't long before a secretary in the nearby office interrupted them and, with as much control as he could muster, told them all to "Please leave, you're creating quite the disruption."

They spilled out onto the street and Lily hooked her arm through James', who beamed, pressed a kiss to the side of her head. "So," Lily poked him in the stomach and he laughed, "did you all eat or what did you do?"

Her mum smiled, "James took us to some lovely little shopping area that he said you both visited when he came out here a while ago."

Remus groaned, patted his stomach, "I'm pretty sure I ate my weight in chocolate."

Her dad laughed, "Yeah, you did. Lils, you should have seen him, he was going mad."

Remus smirked, "Well, after James brought back all that chocolate, I just had to try it all for myself."

Marlene snorted, "Please! How many times did we walk into your flat and find you covered in it?"

Remus shot her a look, "Only once or twice."

Sirius laughed loudly, "Yeah, okay, maybe once or twice _a week._ "

Remus bumped Sirius with his elbow, "Aren't you supposed to be defending me?"

Sirius grinned, "No." Remus huffed, but couldn't suppress his smile when Sirius dropped an arm over his shoulder and pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

" _Anyway_ ," Marlene said, shooting Lily a look and rolling her eyes, "we're going back to London in…" she checked her watch, "an hour. So, shit, we should probably get back to the station, yeah?"

Lily blanched, "What?! You're leaving?"

Remus frowned, "Yeah, I have a big surgery tomorrow - "

"Yeah, yeah, we get it, Moony, you're _famous_ ," Sirius said, bumping his hip against Remus' who bumped him right back, "Fuck off. Oh shit," Remus' cheeks flushed and he looked at Lily's parents, "Sorry."

Lily's dad laughed, "Nothing to fucking worry about, Remus."

Lily's mum swatted him again, but they all laughed.

"As I was saying," Remus said, shooting Sirius a look, "I have surgery and we wanted you and James to have time with your parents. We don't want to intrude or anything. I know - " Lily had opened her mouth to respond, but Remus grinned at her and shouted over her before she had the chance to tell him he was an idiot, "I know we wouldn't be. But we'll celebrate when you get back, Lils. Promise."

Lily sighed, "Yeah, alright."

Remus reached over and grabbed her hand, "We'll get dinner or go to the local or something. But I think James wanted - "

James started gesturing at Remus over Lily's shoulder and Remus broke off, offered Lily a grin, "James wanted to go to that restaurant you mentioned I think? Take your parents out somewhere nice?"

Lily turned to look at James, "What restaurant?"

James bit his lip, "Uh… what was it called?"

Marlene raised an eyebrow, "Fin de siècle?"

James nodded, "Yes! That!"

Lily quirked a confused eyebrow at James, "Did we talk about that place when you were here?"

Marlene shook her head, "No, James and I talked about it when he got back. I asked if you guys went there and he said he wanted to go there with you guys when we came out."

Lily hummed, "Okay," and turned towards her parents, chatted about what they'd been up to for the past few months while she'd been away - she missed the "you're fucking welcome" look Marlene shot James and the one of thanks James sent back.

They took Marlene, Remus, and Sirius back to the train station (Lily cried _a little_ when she watched them go, but was promptly over it when Sirius laughed and announced to the entire platform about how much she was going to miss his 'sexy bod') and grabbed the STIB up to Bourse.

"Is this…" James looked around when they got off the tram. "North of where we were when you were here," Lily said.

"You didn't come here?!" her mum asked, looking around at them. James flushed a bit, but Lily just laughed, "No, James wanted to see the places that I usually go to when I'm here. I rarely ever come up here. It's a tourist trap."

Her dad laughed, "Oh, so you're just taking us to the touristy spots, eh?"

Lily grinned, "James picked the restaurant, don't come at me."

James squeezed her hand nervously, and she just rolled her eyes, pressed a kiss to his cheek, "It's a perfectly lovely restaurant. Mar and I came here _years_ ago - it's a good choice, love." He stuffed a nervous hand in his hair and Lily cocked her eyebrow. He just shook his head, smiled softly at her, but she just put it on the backburner. _He's being weird._

Lily (largely) forgot about how weird he was being, though, when they walked into the restaurant, sat down at a table near the front windows. It was just as cosy as she remembered - the rich, rust coloured walls, high ceilings, beautiful moulding, and _amazing_ smells catapulted her four years back in time when she'd just started her programme. She was young, living on her own _for the first time ever_ in a new city in a country she'd never been to before, speaking a language that was she still new to and stumbled over - it had been terrifying, intimidating, exhausting, exhilarating, brilliantly challenging and _god,_ she'd loved it. Being back here, especially now that she was at the end of this part of her life, it all hit her like a rock to the chest - reminded her how far she'd come, how different she was, now, from the young woman who'd come here with her best friend, her _sister,_ all those years ago, celebrated this huge move in her life, planned what their futures would look like once she was Evans, PhD, and cried about how much they were going to miss each other. They'd come here every time Marlene had visited, drank bottles of wine, laughed until they cried, ate everything in sight - it never got easier when Marlene left, but Fin de siècle had become a kind of homebase for them, a place that Lily knew she could go whenever she was feeling desperately lonely. It had helped.

James squeezed her hand and she looked up, a bit surprised. He smiled softly, reached over and brushed a thumb across her cheek, wiping away a tear she hadn't realised was there - "You alright?" She smiled, used her free hand to hold his palm against her cheek, "Yeah. Just thinking about all the times that Mar and I came here. We used to love this place… it's just like I remembered."

James didn't say anything, but he leaned over, kissed her softly, and that was enough.

When she looked up, she found her parents watching them, and she flushed - "So, bottle of red for the table?"

Her dad chuckled, "Great save, Lils."

Lily rolled her eyes, "It would have been if you hadn't pointed it out, Dad."

Her dad grinned, opened his mouth to say something that was probably going to be very sassy, but her mum laid her hand on his and he felt silent instead - "It's sweet, dear. Nothing to be embarrassed about."

Still, when the bottle of pinot noir came, Lily made sure to pour herself a healthy glass.

"So, James, Lily said you work at the Natural History Museum?"

They'd been chatting amicably, about football, politics, ridiculous things her parents had seen on the telly, but when Lily's Mum leaned across the table and asked James about his job, Lily knew it was on. She was honestly surprised it hadn't started sooner, especially because her mum had been getting weirder as the meal progressed.

Lily squeezed James' thigh under the table and he shot her a warm smile before turning to her mum, "Yes, I started working there after I got with my PhD a few years ago."

Her mum swirled her wine, "Why did you choose this particular line of work? I'm sure you aren't short on money, you probably don't even need to work."

James tensed and Lily felt anger begin boiling in her gut. _So that's what this is about._ James smiled as easily at her mum as he could, "No…" he was a bit hesitant, knew he was treading sensitive ground, "I mean, it's true that I probably wouldn't _have_ to work if I didn't want to, but I like work. Working hard is something that's really important to me and I love what I'm doing with the museum. It's a chance of make some real change."

Her dad, ever the peacemaker, cleared his throat, took a sip of his wine, "Where did you do your graduate work?"

"University College London. In Biosciences," he smiled, anticipating their question.

Her mum clicked her tongue, impressed - "Wow. So you've been living in London for…"

"Since I left Oxford, yeah. Sirius and I moved to Stratford right after we graduated, and Remus joined us a year later when he was finished his course."

Her mum hummed, took a sip of her wine, "So, does it bug you that Lily didn't go to some Russell Group uni like you did?"

Lily blanched, "MUM!"

James smiled at her, grabbed her hand underneath the table, turned to her parents, "No, I don't care about any of that. And anyway, St Andrews has one of the best international relations programmes in the country, it was perfect for her."

Lily swallowed half her glass of wine. _What the fuck are they playing at?_

Her dad shot her mum a look, but she just stared right back, "Have your parents met Lily yet?"

James shook his head, "My mum hasn't met her yet, but from what Mum tells me, they talk on the phone fairly regularly?" he cocked an eyebrow at Lily and she nodded. "Mum loves her almost as much as I do."

"Speaking of love," her dad leaned across the table and Lily picked up her glass of wine, swallowed the remainder and poured herself (and James) another measure. They were well and truly fucked now, "You love Lily?"

Lily was busy downing another glass of wine, but James grabbed her hand anyway, nodded, "With all my heart Mr Evans."

Her mum waved her dad off, "Your mum likes her even though she isn't from some aristocratic background? I've heard of your family, James. You might not be landed gentry anymore, but you're up there."

James was mid-answer ("No, none of that stuff matters - ") when Lily set her glass down, "Mum. Dad. Can we stop with this shit already? I'm smart enough to make my own decisions and I don't need _you two_ coming in here and putting James through it because you want to make sure he's 'good enough' for your 'baby girl'." She put harsh air quotes around it and she saw James take a drag of his wine out of the corner of her eye.

Her mum sighed, "Lily, we're just trying to make sure you don't end up making the same mistakes as your sister did - "

"What?! What are you even talking about?! First of all," Lily took another sip of her wine, "James is the best, _best_ person I've ever met. He makes me happy, so fucking happy, and I don't need you two strolling in here and interrogating him like he's a fucking war criminal. _Second,_ I know you're not comparing him to Vernon fucking Dursley right now. I KNOW you're not."

Her dad rolled his eyes in a way that was _remarkably_ similar to her own, and though Lily knew he was trying to defuse the tension, the dismissiveness of it still made her see red, "Don't be dramatic, Lily. We can tell that James is nothing like Vernon - "

Her mum cut him off, "We just want to make sure you don't repeat your sister's mistakes, Lily. She and Vernon have been having a lot of issues and we don't want to see you have to deal with that too. We want you to _think_ before you settle down or anything."

"So, James has to be tortured because Petunia decided to marry a fucking cunt?"

Her mum shot her a look, "Lily!"

"No," Lily shook her head and James squeezed her hand, rubbed his thumb over her knuckles, "No. Mum, look - I know that, in your mind, you're doing what you think is best. But you need to trust me when I tell you that I love James. That he's thoughtful and loving and infuriating and gives it as good as he gets it and that I _need_ that. I need you to trust me. I'm _not_ Petunia, Mum. I'm not."

Her mum opened her mouth to reply but Lily held up her hand, "And to - and to come here and start insinuating that James thinks I'm some second class piece of rubbish because I'm a Northern girl without an aristocratic pedigree or a degree from a Russell Group is just… Mum, it's _insulting._ It proves that you aren't trying to get to know him, that you're jumping to conclusions before you even have the chance to talk to him, because if you even so much as listened to a single word that came out of his _fucking mouth_ you would know that that's the opposite of _everything_ that James is."

Lily pulled her napkin off her lap and threw it onto her plate and stood up, pulling her hand from James'. "Lily," James set his napkin on the table beside his plate, "where are you going?"

"I'm leaving."

"Love, come on - " James stood up, grabbed her hand again, but Lily was beside herself now - she pulled her hand from his and stormed out. James closed his eyes, took a deep breath, fisted a hand in his hair and turned to her parents - "We'll be right back." - and turned on his heel and followed her out of the restaurant.

When he walked outside, she was pacing up and down the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street, screaming in French. He crossed the street in a few strides, grabbed her hand, smiled, "As hot as I think that is, I would love if I could understand you."

She huffed, ripped her hand from his and resumed pacing, "They're just UN-FUCKING-BELIEVABLE. I haven't seen them in _ages_ and you go through all this trouble to get them here and I know you paid for their train tickets and their hotel, thank you for that by the way, BUT THEY COME HERE AND THEY JUST. THEY START WITH THIS FUCKING BOLLOCKS!"

James grabbed her hand again, tugged on it a bit to still her, "Lils, it's alright," she looked livid but James shook his head, "It's _alright._ Honestly. They… they're just concerned."

"BOLLOCKS. FUCKING BOLLOCKS, JAMES. THEY'RE BEING CUNTS."

James bit his lip to suppress a laugh, "I'm not saying I agree with them, I'm just saying - "

"YOU BETTER NOT AGREE WITH THEM, THEY'RE CALLING YOU AN ARISTOCRATIC ARSEBADGER."

James let the laugh fall out of his mouth this time, "I don't think they ever called me an arsebadger." Lily threw her free hand up in the air, "You know what I mean!"

James sighed, pulled her hand a bit so she was standing closer to him, put his free hand on her hip, "I do. Lils, I… I want your parents to like me, but - " she opened her mouth to respond and he pressed his fingers into her hips, "let me finish. _But_ I'll live if they don't. I only care if _you_ like me. As long as you don't think I'm an aristocratic arsebadger," his eyes sparkled with amusement and Lily smiled in spite of herself, "I don't give a damn what anyone else thinks."

Lily groaned, stepped forward and rested her forehead on James' chest. His arms moved immediately around her, pressed her closer to him, let his chin fall onto the top of her head. She turned her head, sighed, "It just... it pisses me off because you should have seen how they were with Vernon at first. They were _so happy_ that Petunia was getting married. SO HAPPY. And he was such a cockwomble, James."

He laughed, his chest shaking under her cheek, and Lily smiled for a moment, "It irritates me to no end that you're getting the fifth fucking degree and you're this amazing, brilliant man. But even more than that - my parents fucking _trusted_ Petunia when she brought that worthless fuckwit home to meet them, but they're going to question MY judgment?! They're seriously going to look at me, their daughter with a newly minted PhD who is introducing them to her boyfriend that ALSO HAS A PHD and start acting like I'm the one making ill-advised choices?"

James sighed, moved one hand into her hair, began brushing his fingers through her hair in the way he knew she liked, "I'm sorry, love."

She shook her head, "It's always been like this, I'm used to it. I've always, _always,_ been the one catching heat, but I've always been the one doing her damn best and killing it _every day._ It's just… for fuck's sake, I'm _happy._ Isn't that what matters? Can't they see that? Do they have to ruin everything with their fucking accusations?"

"I know. But Lils, I don't know that they were trying to - "

"My mum definitely was."

"Well, yeah, fair," James laughed awkwardly, "but we should go back in there and finish dinner at least. I know you don't want to," he said, smiling down at her when she pulled her head off his chest and glared at him, "I know, trust me, I'm not thrilled about it either, _but_ the only way we're going to change their minds is by showing them that they're wrong."

Lily huffed, "I don't even care what they think anymore."

James brushed his fingers along her jaw, "Yes, you do. You wouldn't have stormed out of there in a temper like that if you didn't."

Lily groaned, "I hate when you're right."

James laughed, "I know you do. Good thing it's rare, yeah?"

She smiled in spite of herself and James beamed, "There's that smile. Come on, let's go show your parents how wrong they fucking are."

Lily took his hands and walked back across the street, "If they ask one more cunty question, we're going back to my flat and fucking instead." James laughed, held open the door so she could walk in, "Deal."

Dinner was, thankfully, a more subdued affair after that. Lily's dad had nudged her mum when they walked back in and her mum had offered up an apology when Lily and James sat back down at the table. Lily barely suppressed an eye roll, but James had smiled, laid his napkin back on his lap, took Lily's hand, "Thanks, Mrs Evans."

The burden of conversation fell, from that point, on James and her dad. Luckily, they were up for the challenge. They chatted about the World Cup Qualifier matches, Premier League clubs, footballers Lily had never heard of - James swore that he'd bring his ball up when he and Lily visited at Christmas (Lily let this slide) and promised to take it easy on him. Lily was still livid, beyond livid, but she couldn't help but smile at the way her dad laughed at James' stupid jokes, at the genuine excitement on his face when James promised they'd face off against each other in some ridiculous back garden football match. _At least Dad likes James._

They walked her parents back to their hotel after dinner, James swinging their hands lightly between them and still chatting her dad's ear off, this time about telly. "Lily and I are going to watch Bake Off as soon as she gets back to London," James said, smiling at her, trying, for the dozenth time, to pull her into conversation. She hadn't taken the bait earlier, not when she was still too angry to trust herself not to start shouting again, but she'd felt the rage start to subside since they'd gotten back out into the cold winter air.

"Yeah," Lily said, smiling up at him (James beamed), "I know you've watched it, Dad, so don't spoil it for us."

He laughed, "I won't, I won't, but I'll just say that I wasn't disappointed with these new hosts. I was worried about that Noel Fielding, but I really liked him. He's funny!"

Lily laughed, patted her dad on the arm, "Yeah, Dad, that's his thing."

When they got to the hotel, her mum wished them a half-hearted goodnight and walked into the lobby. Her dad smiled softly at Lily, lowered his voice to a whisper, "Lils, can you go talk with your mum? I know you're still cross, but she's sorry and I think she really wants to apologise."

Lily swallowed back a number of angry retorts like _why the fuck do I have to be the one to let her apologise, shouldn't she come to me?!_ and sighed, "Dad, Mum could have said she was sorry, really sorry, at any point tonight. We just got that half-arsed apology at dinner and that's it."

He sighed, rubbed his hand against the back of his neck, "I know, but you know your mum. She's too bloody proud. She feels bad that James paid for all this and you know how she gets."

James opened his mouth but her dad held up his hand, "We appreciate it, son, we do. And thank you, by the way - Suz and I wouldn't have been able to come out here otherwise and just… thank you."

James smiled, "It's nothing, really."

Her dad shook his head, "It's not nothing, son. It means a lot. But Lils," he turned back to her and Lily suppressed a groan (James squeezed her hand), "you know how your mum gets. She feels shite - "

Lily grumbled, "She should," under her breath and her dad tipped his head at her, "Now, Lils…"

Lily sighed, "Fine." She turned, pressed a kiss to James' cheek, let go of his hand, and walked into the lobby after her mum.

She found her standing outside the lifts looking, with a very irritated expression on her face, towards the front doors. "What's your father doing?"

Lily shrugged, "He and James are outside chatting about god knows what."

Her mother sighed, shifted her bag on her arm.

"Mum, I…" Lily trailed off, not sure why she was the one starting this conversation. Her mum chuckled, "Ah, so your father sent you in here."

LIly sighed, nodded. No sense lying when the game was already up.

Her mum gestured towards a group of armchairs on the side of the lobby and they walked over, sat down opposite one another. Her mum took a deep breath, fiddled with her fingers for a moment, before she looked up and caught Lily's eye - "It's not that I don't like James."

"That's funny, that's exactly what it seemed like."

Her mum shot her a look and Lily sighed - they were never going to get anywhere when her defenses were up. She took a deep breath and waited for her mum to continue.

"Really," she said, "it isn't. He seems like a lovely young man and you two seem… well, really, really happy together."

Lily couldn't keep the irritation out of her voice when she asked, "Then what is it? Because, honestly Mum, those sound like things any parent would want for their child to have in a relationship."

Her mum sighed, squared her shoulders like someone preparing for a fight, "You're just from two completely different backgrounds, Lily. And I know he says that doesn't matter, but what happens when it starts to? When the fact that he could very easily be in the House of Lords were he so inclined finally clicks in your head? When you realise that the people he knows, outside of that immediate friend group, are never going to think that you're the same caliber that he is? You already need to work twice as hard to prove yourself - why are you making it harder on yourself?"

Lily sighed, fisted a hand in her hair, "Mum, he's being honest when he says that he doesn't care about that. And _I_ don't care about that. It's literally _never_ come up in our relationship. Not even once. And why are we going to stop being happy because other people _might_ care about it? Those people can fuck off, Mum."

"What about when you get married? When you start having kids? What if you want to send them to the local comprehensive and he's dead set on the fanciest grammar school money can buy?"

Lily sighed, "We'd talk about that at the time, like every other parent does. But James didn't even go to a grammar school - he went to the comprehensive where he lived. Sure, it was a brilliant fucking school, but it wasn't some uptight grammar school."

Her mum was quiet for a minute and sighed, "I just… I saw how happy your sister was and I don't want your relationship to end up like hers did. Vernon isn't even from the same kind of family that James is and… and his obsession with class and status is already starting to tear their relationship apart."

Lily snorted, "I don't know that I buy that, Petunia was always concerned with class herself."

Her mum shot her a look but Lily didn't care - it was true.

Her mum took another deep breath, "I do trust your judgment, Lily. I do. And," she smiled softly, genuinely, at Lily for the first time since the very beginning of dinner, "you do seem to be a really great match. We were watching you two through the window and he is a _master_ at talking you down from one of your tempers. We can't even do that and we've known you your whole life."

Lily chuckled, "Yeah, he's really good at that. He's really good at a lot of things, honestly. That's why I wanted you two to get to _know_ him."

Her mum sighed, "I know and, Lily, I _am_ sorry that I was a bit…"

"Awful?" Lily supplied and her mom sighed, "Yes. I am. Truly. I'm serious when I say that I'm concerned about this stuff, but if you and James are happy, that's all I need to hear. That he loves you and he keeps you on your toes and he makes you want to be better every day. Does he do that?"

Lily smiled, "Yeah. Yeah, he does."

Her mum smiled, leaned over and grabbed Lily's hand, "Good. Now, I'm tired, can you send your father in here so we can get to bed already? He has the room keys."

Lily nodded, stood, and pulled her Mum into a hug, "Thanks, Mum," and walked back out front. James and her dad were standing over in a corner under a street lamp, chatting animatedly about something James was showing him and Lily rolled her eyes. _Stupid prats probably looking at some football bullshit._ "Oi, Dad!"

They looked up, James stuffed his hands in his pockets and they walked back across the car park. She laughed as soon as they were within conversation distance, "What were you gits doing on the other side of the carpark?"

James shrugged, "We wanted the light for something."

Lily laughed, "For what?" Her dad grinned, "Secret man business."

Lily rolled her eyes, "You two are stupid."

James laughed, "But you love us." Lily groaned, but wrapped her arm around his waist, "Lord knows why." He just beamed, pressed a kiss to her temple.

"Dad, Mum says she wants to go to bed and you have the keys."

"Shit, right," her dad fumbled around in his trouser pocket and pulled out his wallet, "Alright, goodnight, kids." He pulled James into a hug and then Lily, squeezing her tight, "We really are so, so proud of you, Lils."

He pressed a kiss to her cheek and Lily smiled, "Thanks, Dad." He grinned, "Alright, one of you text me so I know you got back safe."

Lily rounded on James, "'One of you'?!" James just grinned.

* * *

A week later, Lily had a handful of bags piled in the entry of her, well, Dorcas', flat and was hugging her now former housemate fiercely, "I'm going to miss you!"

Dorcas squeezed her shoulders, "I know, I'm going to miss _you!_ " Lily pulled back, wiped a tear from her cheek, "Whenever you're in London, honestly, let me know. You can stay with Mar and me. We'd love to have you."

Dorcas smiled, tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, "I'll definitely take you up on that."

Lily hitched her rucksack up onto her shoulders, grabbed the remaining bags on the floor, huffed under the weight. Dorcas laughed, "Do you need help?"

Lily groaned, "No, no, I got it. I'm just going to the metro, I'll be fine."

Dorcas snorted, "People are going to _hate_ you." Lily laughed, "Too fucking bad."

Dorcas shook her head, rolled her eyes, "You're mad, Evans." Lily shrugged, "Yeah."

Lily opened the door and the finality of it all hit her - she spun, repressing a groan because _fuck these bags are heavy_ and pulled Dorcas into another hug. Dorcas laughed, "I'll see you again, soon, Lils, I swear! And we'll talk!"

Lily took a deep breath and pulled away, "I know, I know, I'm just going to miss you."

Dorcas grinned, "Yes, we're both going to miss each other. But you can call me whenever you need to chat, you know I don't sleep."

Lily laughed, "True. Alright," she hitched the bags higher up on her shoulder, "I'm leaving. I'll text you when I get home."

Dorcas grinned, "Perfect. Have a nice trip and try not to hit anyone with your bags."

Lily chuckled, "I'll do my best."

She managed to avoid hitting people with her bags (she did whack a guy in the queue for her train tickets in Brussels, but, in her defense, he was standing _way_ too close behind her) and stumbled out of the train into St Pancras around tea time.

She was sad to leave Brussels, missed it so much already, but she was _boiling_ with excitement now that she was back in London. She practically sprinted through the station (well, sort of - she'd forgotten how heavy those bags were in the two hours she'd been sitting on the train) and pushed, as gracefully as she could manage, out of the doors to the pick up area. She scanned the outside of the station, looking for that ridiculous mop of black hair, that lopsided smirk, and after a few moments, she spotted him over by the pillars, near a group of extremely enthusiastic people handing out pamphlets ( _ugh_ ).

"James!"

He looked up from his mobile, broke into a broad smile, and jogged towards her through the crowd. Lily dropped her bags when he reached her, wrapped her arms around him, kissed him more enthusiastically than was probably appropriate, but she didn't care. She was back in London, back with James, _she was finally finished her fucking degree,_ and the grumpy people on the street could piss off, she was going to kiss him however she damn well pleased. He, too, didn't seem to care what bystanders might think of their display - he pressed his hands into her back until there wasn't a breath of space between them, lifted her just a bit up off the ground, deepened the kiss. She resisted, just barely, the urge to press her hands into his shoulders, lift herself higher, wrap her legs around his waist (and effectively throw any semblance of propriety out the window), and instead opted for a smile. He grinned back, broke the kiss, and rested his forehead against hers, "Hi."

She laughed and, though she was sure she was imagining it, it sounded brighter, fuller than it had in months, "Hi."

He set her back down onto the pavement, walked a few steps behind her and grabbed some of her bags off the ground, took her hand and walked them over to the taxi stand. "So, you up for dinner with the fam tonight? I told them we should wait until you get back and see, I know it's a long day." He smiled warmly down at her and she rested her head briefly on his upper arm, "Yeah, let's do dinner. Do they want to go out, cook, get takeaway?"

James shrugged, opened the back door of a taxi, "Hey, mate, can you open the boot?"

James deposited his bags in the boot, took Lily's bags from her hands and put them in, shut the door, took her hand again and helped her into the car. Lily laughed, "James, this isn't 1950. You don't need to help me into the car." James winked, shut the door, and the driver laughed, "Where you two headed?"

"Leytonstone High Street," she said, brushing her hair out of her eyes as James climbed into the seat next to her, took her hand.

The driver groaned, "Jesus, that's a trip."

Lily laughed, "Now you see why we aren't going to try and fight through the Underground with all those bags."

The driver chuckled, put the car into gear, "Just don't get anything gross on my seats, yeah? The last time I had newlyweds in my car, I had to take it in for a serious cleaning."

James blanched, "I - I mean - we haven't - "

Lily chuckled, squeezed his hand, "We're not married."

The driver grinned at them in the rearview mirror, "Not yet."

James went from pale white to brilliant red and Lily just laughed.


	8. Chapter 8

**So… I wanted to have this done yesterday. But this chapter got a bit… out of hand. It got so long, in fact, that I'm breaking this out into two chapters (I'm very grumpy about this but this was getting absurdly long).**

 **This is extremely long, so make yourself a cuppa tea and settle in. If you make it through this whole chapter, you should get a fucking medal or something. Oh, and in case you're wondering, NO MORE HIATUS! I'm back! Xx**

* * *

She fell back into a routine fairly easily now that she was back in London. Though Lily would also be the first to admit that her days were starting to feel tragically empty now that she didn't have a dissertation to work on.

She'd started applying for jobs the moment she'd gotten back on British soil, but the job hunt was more annoying than she'd ever anticipated, and she was kicking herself for not applying earlier. It was the week before Christmas, and even though she didn't actually expect anything to come along this close to the holiday, she was getting incredibly antsy. As such, she'd taken to complaining about it to Marlene as often as she could get away with to relieve some tension.

"I mean," Lily took a drag of her tea that Wednesday afternoon, an iced bun in her hand, and copies of her CV and many, many job adverts strewn across their coffee table, "I don't _want_ to work for Boris Johnson, but I want to work for the Foreign Office."

She'd worked for the Foreign Office for a few years right after leaving uni in a few policy positions, examining things like bland consular matters until they eventually realised she wasn't a complete prat and moved her to teams looking at more complex issues, like nuclear nonproliferation policy and environmental policy. She'd left, perhaps stupidly, after the end of her third policy appointment to get her degree, but she'd always known she wanted to return to the office. It was negotiating the _level_ she wanted to return at that was proving more difficult than she'd anticipated. She was qualified, certainly, to enter in as the head of a policy team or something equally advanced, but being out of the office (and the country) for so many years meant that most of her contacts were either stationed abroad (something she wasn't looking at _just_ yet) or they worked for foreign governments.

Marlene laughed, set down the job posting she'd been reading and cocked her eyebrow at Lily, "Unfortunately, they're kind of one and the same at the moment, love."

Lily groaned, smacked her forehead onto the table, "I know."

Lily could practically feel Marlene rolling her eyes but she, thankfully, didn't say anything… not until Lily groaned (again) into the paper her face was mashed on. Marlene whacked her in the back of the head with a stack of papers, "Stop being so fucking extra, Evans. You're bloody fucking amazing, you know it, I know it, and you're going to get a job."

Lily picked up her head, rested her chin on the papers underneath her face and looked at Marlene, "What if I don't?"

Marlene grinned, "James is rich enough to be your sugar daddy."

Lily just groaned again.

And so it went.

She emailed the few contacts she had in the Foreign Office later that night, knowing it was probably a complete waste of time just before the start of the Christmas holiday, and offered to buy them lunch so they could catch up, chat about how things were going. Hestia Jones, Lily's former colleague on the nuclear policy team, had since been promoted, apparently a dozen times, and was now head of the whole nuclear team - she'd emailed Lily back almost immediately and, thankfully, accepted Lily's offer. _What about tomorrow? I know it's a bit last minute, but my lunch meeting suddenly cancelled and my schedule is pretty hectic after the holiday._

Lily would have been stupid to say no.

And, though she was inexplicably nervous _and_ she'd made Marlene dress her again, Lily had managed to have a fairly productive networking lunch. They'd chatted about their old times on the nuclear team, Hestia caught Lily up on what she'd been doing since, Lily told her she'd just finished a PhD and was "actually looking to get back into the Foreign Office, if you have any insight about where I should be looking."

"Actually," Hestia sifted through her bag and unearthed her mobile, "I do know of something I think you'd be great for. Minerva has only been looking at internal applicants, but she hasn't been thrilled with any of them and I think you'd be a great fit."

Hestia tapped on her mobile and scanned her eyes down the screen before handing it across the table to Lily. Lily skimmed through the posting, nodding as she went, "Head of the France and Common Foreign and Security policy team?"

Lily handed the mobile back and Hestia nodded, "Yeah, the old guy just… _resigned,_ " Lily chuckled and nodded in understanding, "So Minerva, the Director, is looking to fill the post pretty quickly, especially with," Hestia gestured vaguely to the air around them, "all this Brexit bollocks that, somehow, just keeps getting worse."

Lily nodded, "I actually wrote a chapter on France _and_ a chapter on the UK/EU crisis for my dissertation." Hestia raised her eyebrows, "Really? Fuck, you might be perfect then."

Hestia tapped a few more buttons on her screen, "There, just sent you the posting. I'm going to tap out a message to Minerva right now to introduce the two of you, just follow up with your CV, yeah? She's going out of the office tomorrow like the rest of us, but she's usually pretty quick with email."

Lily smiled gratefully as her mobile pinged in her bag, "Thanks, Hestia, this is amazing."

Hestia just grinned while Lily took a drag of her drink, "Not at all, Lily. We need more brilliant women in the Foreign Office anyway. We're starting to get overrun by complete fuckwits."

It took everything Lily had not to snort her drink out all over the table.

By the end of the night, Lily had emailed her information directly to McGonagall, sent out dozens of applications to a variety of positions just in case, and crossed her fingers. McGonagall had, amazingly, sent Lily an email back almost immediately - _Very impressed by your CV Ms Evans, and Ms Jones speaks very, very highly of you. Can you be in my office on the 3rd of January for an interview? - M McGonagall_

Lily had never replied to an email so quickly in her entire life.

Now that she, hopefully, had a job offer on the horizon, Lily settled down a lot more (much to the relief of pretty much everyone around her) until she remembered that Christmas was that bloody weekend and she hadn't bought gifts for everyone _._

She called James in a panic on Friday, _the twenty bloody second_ , begged him for ideas about what to get Remus and Sirius. James just laughed, "You don't need to get them anything, Lils." Lily groaned into the phone, "Yes I do, James! They're family!"

She could practically feel him rolling his eyes through the phone but she didn't care. "I think you're starting to go a bit stir crazy sitting at home with nothing to do," he said. She heard him shifting the phone around and was sure that he'd sandwiched it between his shoulder and his ear - sure enough, she realised she could hear his hands flying over the keys of his keyboard in the background.

She didn't want to admit it, didn't want to admit it at all, but he was right. Marlene spent her days at work, working increasingly longer hours now that the gallery was getting more attention, Remus was at the hospital all the time, James worked every day, and even _Sirius_ was busy in the garage lately with some last minute holiday projects he'd taken on - she was left in the flat to wander around aimlessly and question all her life choices and get anxious about things that she didn't actually need to concern herself with, at least not to the level she was letting them consume her… like Christmas gifts.

Lily groaned loudly, collapsed down onto the couch, "Okay, but actually! I _am!_ I have all this fucking time on my hands and nothing to do with it!" Her voice was slightly more hysterical than she would have liked and she was grateful, so bloody grateful, that James didn't laugh at her.

He stopped typing and when he spoke again, she could tell that he'd readjusted the phone so that he was holding it in his hand again, "I know, love," his voice was calm and soothing, and she sighed just hearing it, "I'm sure that head position will come through. Why don't you come down here today - we'll get tea, chat about ideas for gifts, and you can get out of the house."

When she got to Kensington about forty minutes later, she was already feeling more relaxed (a feat considering the fact that everyone and their bloody mother was out doing holiday shopping and people kept hitting her with their bags on the Tube. _Bastards_ ). She met James in their Costa and the beaming smile he gave her when she walked through the door was all it took to melt any remaining tension in her chest. He wrapped his arms around her and planted a kiss to the top of her head, "How was your trip in, love?"

She shrugged against his chest, "The usual." James chuckled, "Ah, so a bloody hellscape, then."

Lily laughed, pulled back, smiled at him, "More or less."

They ordered tea and blueberry scones (she poked fun at him about his treachery, threatened to send Remus a picture) and took the table in the corner so they could watch the people running up and down the street outside.

"So, let's start with the gifts you _know_ you're getting," James said, popping a bit of scone into his mouth, "Have you decided on anyone yet?"

Lily nodded, took a sip of her tea, "I'm getting Dad tickets to a Middlesbrough match, I haven't really figured out what I'm getting Mum, but I think I'll just get her a new book and some new crafting stuff. I'm still kind of pissed off about the whole Brussels thing, so I haven't really been feeling it."

James chuckled, stuffed another bit of scone into his mouth, "Alright, that seems good. Anyone else?" He cocked a curious eyebrow and she grinned, "Even if I _have_ figured out what I'm getting you, I'm not telling you."

James sighed, "Oh come _on_ , Lils. I'll tell you what I got you!"

Lily shook her head, "Don't you dare."

James just grinned, "As you wish, Evans. It's a _pretty_ spectacular gift though."

She shot him a stern look, "You better not have broken our rules." They'd agreed to gifts with a 'core creative component' (whatever the bloody fuck that meant, James had only called it that for the alliteration) - they weren't allowed to purchase anything apart from the materials required to create whatever it was.

James just beamed, "I didn't."

She rolled her eyes, he was just trying to make her curious (he was), but she refused to take the bait, " _Anyway,_ " she continued, "I've been trying to decide what I should do for Marls, but I think I'll just end up doing a like… experience thing? I haven't quite decided."

James nodded, "Yeah, we usually do that every year, Remus, Sirius, and I. Last Christmas we went camping in Kent."

Lily burst out laughing, " _You three?! Went camping?!_ "

James laughed, fisted his hand in his hair, "Well, we'd thought it was a good idea at the time. But the first morning we were there, Sirius was already crying about his hair and, on the third day, I may or may not have neglected to heed some of Remus' very wise advice and ended up landing myself in hospital."

Lily probably should have been concerned for his well-being, any normal girlfriend probably would have gasped, started declaring that _oh thank god you're alright_ \- but Lily wasn't, never would be, a normal girlfriend and proceeded to burst into hysterical laughter. "You fucking prat, you ate something didn't you?! Or like fell off a cliff!"

James flushed a bit pink and his hand found his hair again, "No, I didn't fall off a bloody cliff, we were in the forest for fuck's sake. But Sirius might have dared me to eat some berries that, as it turns out, were a bit… poisonous."

Lily doubled over in laughter again, "I swear to christ, the fact that the two of your made it to adulthood is an absolute fucking miracle." James chuckled, "I think it was more Remus' doing than Christ's if I'm honest."

Lily snorted, "Sounds about right."

" _Anyway,_ " James said, using her tone from earlier and making Lily laugh, "I think it would be nice for you two to do something together. You've both been really busy lately…" Lily frowned, nodded, took a sip of her tea, "I know. I've missed her a lot."

James smiled softly, reached across the table and took her hand, "I know you have, love."

Lily was quiet for a minute before she looked up and grinned, "Alright, so I've got Marlene's, now what do I do about our other two?"

James rolled his eyes, "I told you, you don't need to do anything - "

"I don't give a flying fuck what you told me, Potter. They're my brothers now, too, I'm getting them something! What are you guys doing this year?"

The corner of James' lips twitched and Lily grinned in response. He sighed, "Well, the three of us haven't actually figured out what we're doing this year. We were talking about going to Ireland after the Christmas holiday and doing some kind of trip. Remus has been pestering us _for years_ about 'coming to see the glory of my homeland, you fucking gits,' so I think this year might be the year."

Lily chuckled, took a sip of her tea, "After only two decades of friendship, no big deal."

James rolled his eyes, "He's been living in England since he was five, it's not like he went home every summer and we never visited."

Lily laughed, "I know, I'm just taking the piss, relax." James hit her in the head with a bit of scone and gave her a wide smile. She returned the favour.

"Alright, well," Lily took the final sip of her tea, turned the empty cup around in her hands, tried to look pathetic, "if you have no ideas, I guess I'll just have to figure something out."

James laughed, reached across the table and shoved her shoulder, "Oh, fuck off, Evans." She laughed, "Okay, but seriously! Because all I can think to get Remus is some kind of jumper and the biggest box of chocolates I can find and surely there's something he would want more than that?!"

James raised an eyebrow, "He would literally want nothing else."

Lily threw her hands up in exasperation, "THEN WHY HAVE I BEEN FREAKING OUT ABOUT THIS?!"

James grabbed her hands again, "Because you have nothing to do all day and you're starting to go a bit mad. It's _fine_ \- Lils, you know these losers, just get them something you think they'll like. Now," he stood, kept one of her hands in his own and pulled her to standing, "I have to get back to work, but as you came all the way down to Kensington today, maybe just… wander around. Do a bit of looking and see what inspires you."

She stood on her toes, pressed a kiss to his lips before grabbing her coat off the back of the chair, "Alright, Potter. You win this round."

He winked and she shoved him out the door.

* * *

They'd decided in late November, after Lily tried many, many times to convince him that he didn't have to miss Christmas with his family, that they were going to take the train North to see Lily's parents from Christmas Eve to Christmas, and then head back down and see James' mum on Boxing Day.

"James," she'd said, rolling her eyes as he paused their FaceTime video and began clicking through to the ticketing site, "There is no way in hell that there will still be tickets available. Christmas is in a month and I'm fairly sure they start booking these seats like months in advance."

Apparently, though, when you have all the bloody money in the world, there are always tickets available. James flicked back into the video, shot her a winning smile, and ordered their tickets - Lily had rolled her eyes and promised to kick him for his cheek when she got back to England (she had, of course, since forgotten to follow through on that particular threat, but she found that kissing him was a lot more entertaining, so it really wasn't her fault).

Now that they were actually _in_ King's Cross, though, Lily had the distinct impression that neither of them had done very much winning. Though she supposed it was their fault for trying to go anywhere on Christmas Eve.

It had been alright getting on the Tube back in Leytonstone - she'd been able to save James a seat and there was still plenty of room on the floor in front of them to keep their bags securely between their knees after he joined her in Stratford. When they transferred to the Circle line at Liverpool though… they'd hoped, probably stupidly, that the Circle line wouldn't be _as_ busy as the Piccadilly line, but if that was true, then the Piccadilly line was well and truly fucked. The train was _packed,_ they could barely squeeze into the carriage, everyone in their immediate vicinity was glaring at them for _daring_ to bring bags on the Tube, and, though Lily shot a few of them nastier glares in return, she couldn't really blame them after the bag rolled out from between her legs and bumped into the guy behind her.

As annoying as the trek to King's Cross has been, the station itself was infinitely worse. They had hoped, again foolishly, that taking the first train out in the morning would mean that the traffic wouldn't have been as bad - but oh how very wrong they were. There were people _everywhere,_ the queues for every single bloody shop were unbearably long, and the noise was starting to drive her absolutely fucking mad. So, while it normally would have annoyed her that James bought, apparently, the fanciest fucking tickets on the Virgin EC, the quiet that settled in their compartment when James shut the door and pulled the shade shut was enough to make her want to sing his praises until the end of time.

"I've never said this before," Lily said as she stuffed her bag into the overhead rack, "and I will never say this again, but thank god you're disgustingly rich."

James snorted with laughter, "Trip in a bit overwhelming?"

Lily rolled her eyes and sat down in the seat by the window, kicked her feet up on the bench opposite, "You could say that."

James chuckled, grabbed his laptop out of the bag and set it on the table in front of Lily, sat down next to her, "We're going to get a full meal, too."

Lily turned to face him, "WHAT?!"

James grinned, "First Park and Go, love."

"Maybe Marls was right and I should just let you be my sugar daddy."

James laughed so hard he choked.

Someone came around with tea (Lily had nearly passed out she was so fucking shocked) and she and James sat around drinking the pot and chatting about Christmas. "You know," James said, chuckling to himself as he looked over at her, "I've literally never had this issue before. I mean, we sorted it fairly easily, but still."

Lily raised a questioning eyebrow and James clarified, "Holiday scheduling."

Lily laughed, "I haven't either! No one's ever been worth the trouble." She shot James a smile and he just beamed in response, so she shoved his head with a roll of her eyes and changed the subject before his head got too big, "What do you guys usually do over Christmas?"

"Well," James furrowed his brow, "Christmas is usually pretty quiet, especially after Dad died a few years back. Mum, Sirius, Remus and I usually just sit in the house, have a quiet day, and then," he fell quiet and flushed a bit pink. Lily cocked her eyebrow, felt a smile tugging at the corner of her lips, "What?"

James bit the edge of his lip, "Well, Mum always loved the Boxing Day sales growing up, but she stopped going as she got older and then when Dad died… well, anyway, the first Christmas without Dad, we dragged Mum out _super_ early and went to the shops as soon as they opened and we shopped _all. Bloody. Day."_

Lily smiled, reached out and took his hand, "That's sweet!"

James smiled, "It was just to get her mind off of it more than anything else, though oh my god, you should have seen Sirius and Remus. They made us go into _every_ shop and between those two and Mum, we were out there all fucking day. But anyway, now it's a thing. Boxing Day sales and ham."

Lily laughed because of course he would add on the ham, but her brow furrowed a bit, "You're not going to miss that stuff, are you? I mean, we won't be there until like 10:30 on Boxing Day."

James smiled, "Nah, it's alright. Sirius usually drags poor Mum out of bed at 6:30, so they'll have time to get some shopping in before we get there, but maybe they'll be worn out and, therefore, less annoying."

Lily laughed, "God, I can't imagine how Sirius is going to be fresh off a day of getting presents."

James rolled his eyes, "Yeah, you were lucky enough to miss him on his birthday this year. Let's just say that he doubles down on his extra."

Lily groaned, "Fuck, we're screwed."

James laughed, poured them both more tea, "Tell me about it."

After they finished their pot of tea, Lily talked him into watching _Die Hard._ James, ridiculous man that he is, insisted that the only way he could possibly sit through it was if he was allowed to play with her hair because "as we both know, Evans, _Love Actually_ is the only proper Christmas movie and if you're going to make me watch this rubbish, I'm going to need a distraction" - so they settled into their bench, James' arm around her shoulder, his fingers twirling through one of the pieces of her hair (and his other hand occasionally skimming her thigh, but she only let him _really_ distract her once or twice).

Nearly two and a half hours and a delicious mid-morning meal later, James and Lily got off the train in Darlington and walked through the station to get to the Northern rail. Their train towards Saltburn was set to arrive only 15 minutes after the EC train had dropped them off, so they didn't have too much time to dawdle. Lily wasn't _too_ familiar with this station anymore, but she started to feel something like muscle memory guiding her once they got out of the EC platforms and into the middle of the station. She'd used to come up here a few times a year before starting her degree, but only once a year since she'd moved out to Brussels - still, the brick walls felt more familiar than she'd thought they would, and they moved fairly quickly through the station.

They arrived on their platform with ten minutes to spare, and Lily handed James their bags so that she could pop back to the Costa stand and grab them some more tea. James laughed, but sank down immediately onto the bench, propped his elbow along the back and rested his head on his hand, "Lily, we just drank two pots of tea on the train!"

Lily raised her eyebrows, "I'm sorry, sir, have we met?"

James shook his head, but smirked and waved her off.

She came back, two giant, steaming cups of tea in her hands a few minutes later and joined James on the bench. He looked more tired than when she'd left him and he smiled gratefully as she handed him the cup. She sat down next to him and he rested his head on her shoulder, "I'm glad you got tea."

She chuckled, tried to keep from bouncing her shoulder too much so as not to disturb him, "I see that." He nuzzled his nose into her neck and was quiet for a moment.

"You think your mum is going to like me this time?"

Lily sighed. She'd been thinking about this for the past week, actually, and hadn't wanted to say anything. She didn't want to make James any more nervous than he probably was and she didn't want to admit to _herself_ that she was nervous. She took another sip of her tea, "I hope so."

She'd wanted to say something a bit more reassuring, but she also didn't want to get his hopes up. Her mum could be a right prat when she wanted to be and, sure, their final conversation seemed like it had settled the 'James question,' but you never could tell with her mother.

"Well, at least your dad will be happy," James picked his head up from her shoulder and smiled sleepily at her, "I brought my football."

She chuckled, rolled her eyes, "Of course you bloody did."

They got off the train in Middlesbrough half an hour (and a nap) later to see her dad, all smiles, standing just outside the station. He'd rushed over to them immediately and wrapped her in a hug, "Hey, Lils!" before grabbing James, "Alright, son?"

James clapped her dad on the back, his usual charisma back in full force now that he had another cuppa tea and a short nap under his belt. "I'm brilliant, sir, how are you?"

"Oh," her dad waved him off, "It's David, son, call me David." Lily caught James' eye and he shot her a covert thumbs up. She rolled her eyes.

"Well, David, I hope you're ready for a football match later this afternoon." Lily pretended to gag as she set her bag in the boot of her dad's car, but her dad turned towards James with a broad smile on his face - "You brought your ball?"

James grinned, "I brought my ball."

Her dad clapped James on the back, "Brilliant, son. We'll kick it around first thing, yeah?"

James nodded while Lily climbed into the backseat. He raised an enquiring eyebrow at her and she just grinned, "Go ahead, sit in the front. I know you two have some catching up to do."

Her dad and James both laughed, but they didn't shut up for more than two seconds once James sat down in the front seat.

Her family only lived five minutes outside the city centre, so it wasn't long before they were pulling up in front of the house. The brick house was just as she remembered - the gate (still black, but obviously newly painted) was ajar as it always was, the tall hedges plated in lieu of a garden wall were still meticulously maintained. She'd never wanted as a child, but her family had never had much - this house, though, was her parent's main source of pride and it showed in how well they'd taken care of it through the years. Her dad, she knew, would sometimes forgo a new pair of trainers to buy paint for the exterior doors, her mum spent all her free time out in the garden paying painstaking attention to the hedges, the flower beds, the grass. So many of her childhood memories centred around this house - raking leaves as soon as they fell from the trees in autumn (and jumping into the pile as soon as Dad had his back turned), helping Mum plant bulbs in the winter, pulling weeds with her sister every summer. Her parents had a bit more money now, her father had been promoted a few years back, but they'd never once considered moving out of this house. "It's where your mother and I built a life," her dad had said, "How could we start over somewhere else and leave all of this behind?" He'd gestured his arms wide like he was trying to wrap a whole bloody palace in his hands instead of a tiny brick two-story.

She certainly didn't understand the impulse having never really been a homebody herself, but still - she was glad they hadn't moved. She just couldn't picture her parents anywhere else.

She climbed out of the car as soon as her dad parked, rolling her eyes while he and James banged on about something or another, and grabbed her bag out of the boot. Her dad wandered off into the back garden and James popped round the back of . the car, planted a kiss on her cheek and unzipped his bag - Lily barked a laugh as he pulled out his football (and noted just how little he'd packed in order to fit said ball).

James cocked an eyebrow but Lily just smirked, "Nothing." Her voice was high pitched and completely unconvincing, but James didn't seem to care in the least. "I'm just going to nip in and say hi to your mum, then your dad and I are going to go kick this around."

Lily zipped his bag back up and pulled it out of the boot as well, "I'll just carry your bag up, then."

"You don't have to - " Lily shot him a glare and he grinned, "I know, it's not 1960."

She nudged him with the corner of his bag, "Damn right," and walked up the garden path.

"Mum!" Lily opened the door and held it open so James could walk past her, "We're here!"

"Oh, Lily! James!" Her mum bustled out of the kitchen, her old floral pinny tied round her waist, wrapped them both in hugs in turn (a bit awkward as they both had their arms full), "Have a nice trip up? Can I offer you some tea?"

Her mum was being perfect-host-Mum and Lily felt her guard go back up. This was either a good sign or a terrible one - she just had to figure out which. "No thank you, Mrs Evans. David and I are actually going to go kick the football around in the garden a bit if that's alright?"

Her mum sighed and shook her head, "David has been talking about that all bloody week. And, James," she placed her hand on James' forearm and Lily thought her heart was going to stop, "Suzanne is fine."

Lily dropped her bags and pulled her mother immediately into another hug.

"Thank you," Lily pulled back, held her mother at arms length. Her mum just smiled softly, brushed Lily's hair back behind her ears like she'd used to do when Lily was a kid, "I told you, Lils. If you're happy, I'm happy. Now," she pulled herself out of Lily's arms, "James, you can head out and play with David before he gets too impatient and comes in here looking for you and tracks mud all over my kitchen floor." James laughed, but nodded his head and trotted back out the front door and down the steps, "Lily, why don't you take those bags upstairs - your sister will be here soon and - "

"WHAT?!"

Her mum put on an innocent expression, "I thought we told you that Petunia and Vernon were coming?"

"You most certainly did not! I would have remembered that! I would have mentally prepared!"

"Oh Lily," her mum rolled her eyes, "stop being so bloody dramatic. It's _Christmas,_ it's a time for family. Did you honestly think that your sister wasn't going to be here?"

Lily scoffed, "She wasn't here last year!"

"They went to Vernon's last year, you know they alternate years."

Lily groaned, "REGARDLESS! You should have told me, Mum. _FUCK_!"

Her mum clicked her tongue admonishingly, "Nothing we can do about it now, Lily, so get over it. You and James are only staying until Boxing Day anyway and I'm sure you'll manage."

Lily huffed but her mother wasn't having it - "Did Marlene come home, too? Maybe you can visit her?"

Lily shook her head, "Her mum went down to London to visit her this year. Val wanted to see our flat."

Her mother sighed, "I wish you wouldn't call her 'Val' like you're old mates." Lily raised her eyebrow, "Val and I are old mates - I've known her since I was five."

"Still," her mother sighed, "it would be nice if you were a bit more respectful."

Lily laughed bitterly, "Story of my fucking life," grabbed their bags and trudged upstairs.

It had only been a year since she'd last been here, but she never seemed to remember just what her childhood bedroom looked like until she was standing in the middle of the bloody thing again. She groaned, temporarily contemplated removing all the S-Club and Spice Girls posters, but ultimately decided that it wasn't worth it - if James didn't love her because of a few Spice Girls posters he could fuck right on off anyway. _Note to self - listen to the Spice Girls again ASAP._

She dropped their bags onto her bed, and groaned - she'd forgotten just how small her single bed was. Lily fell back onto her pillows and sighed, "This is going to be a tight squeeze." She let her eyes flutter closed for a minute to try and compose herself - she wasn't prepared for her sister to be here this year, hadn't prepared _James_ to meet her and her awful fucking husband. She wasn't ready for any of it and having it sprung on her made her absolutely livid. Maybe she should have remembered that Petunia and Vernon alternated years or whatever, but her mother also could have fucking _mentioned it_ when Lily had called them back in November to let her know what she and James were planning.

 _Though,_ Lily's more reasonable side was trying to break through, _if she'd told me, I would have seriously considered cancelling our tickets._

 _Fuck._

She groaned, opened her eyes, and pushed herself up off the bed, gave her arms a little shake to try and get some of her irritation out. There was nothing she could do about it now - she just had to put on her best face and get through the next 48 hours. _And drink every bloody glass of wine or gin or brandy that comes my way._

She took one more deep breath and crossed the room, opened her door, and went back downstairs. Her mum _had_ said that Petunia was going to be here soon and she didn't want James to have to be alone when that fucking hurricane hit. She walked out the front door to avoid her mum and walked round the drive to the back garden.

James and her dad were just kicking the ball back and forth to one another now, but the way that her dad was sweating, she was sure that they'd been running around like children a few minutes before. Lily walked over to the bench by her mum's lavender bushes, "You boys having fun?"

James turned to her, beaming, "Yeah! I'm kicking your dad's arse!"

Her dad laughed, "Yeah, yeah. It helps that you've got twenty five years on me, kid."

James chuckled, kicked the ball back to him, "Sounds like an excuse, Dave."

Then they took off running again like children and, though Lily rolled her eyes, she felt the tension flooding out of her nonetheless as she watched them. At least she'd have these two as comic relief if Petunia started acting like a git.

They batted the ball back and forth for a few more minutes before her dad finally called it quits, "Alright, son, I need to go drink some water before I have a bloody heartattack. Good show, though. You up for some more later?" He kicked the ball up into the air and caught it in his hands, tossed it to James. James grinned, "Absolutely."

Her dad went inside (they could hear her mum screaming at her dad about the mud all over his trainers) and James walked over and sat down next to Lily on the bench. He rested his head on her shoulder, the ends of his hair brushing against her neck. Lily laughed, "You're all sweaty!"

James moved his head and brushed more sweat on her, "Your dad gave me a workout."

Lily snorted, "That sounds really gross if you take it out of context."

James poked her side before he sat up and looked at her, "What's wrong, love?"

"Who said anything was wrong?"

James shrugged, "You just look a bit off."

Lily sighed, "Petunia is coming. And Vernon. Though, I guess that's obvious if Petunia - "

She was starting to ramble, but James interrupted her before she got too far, threaded his fingers through hers, "Your sister?"

Lily nodded, "The very same."

"Did you know before we - "

She shook her head, "Mum just told me. Like, literally just told me after you came out here to play footy with Dad."

James sighed, "Shit."

Lily laughed, "Yeah."

They were quiet for a moment, James just rubbing his thumb along her knuckles in that smooth, soothing way that he does. After a few minutes, he turned to look at her, "It'll be alright. We're only here for two days anyway and, hey, if we need to escape, you can always show me around. I've never been to Middlesbrough, so we'd have a pretty good excuse to get out if we needed to."

Lily breathed a sigh of relief, leaned over and planted a soft kiss to his lips. His free hand immediately moved up to cup her cheek, his fingers threading themselves in the pieces of hair that framed her face. She pulled back, rested her forehead against his - "Have I ever told you how much I love you?"

James smiled, pressed another kiss to her lips, this one just a bit firmer than before, "I'm always open to hearing it again."

She laughed against his lips and kissed him one final time before moving back a bit on the bench and putting some distance between them. James pouted and Lily just swatted his chest, "You are not getting me all worked up in the back garden at my parent's house. They're probably looking out the kitchen window right now."

James looked over her shoulder and his cheeks flushed a bit pink. Lily just cocked her eyebrow, "Told you."

They sat outside chatting for a few more minutes, James hand working itself dangerously high up her thigh to see what Lily would let him get away with before she'd laugh, smack his hand away, and remind him that they were being watched. He'd just shimmied his hand underneath her coat, his warm fingers wrapped around her hip and a cheeky smile on his face when her mum opened the kitchen door, "Lily, James, they're here!"

James kept smiling but Lily saw its tenor shift instantly, something she'd never actually seen in him before. She'd heard from Sirius and Remus that James was something of a master at what they called the "business smile," that dead behind the eyes but flatly inoffensive smile that disguised nerves, anger, whatever. She moved her eyes slowly over his face as he smiled back at her mother, heard him say, "We'll be right in, Suzanne!" but holy shit was it different.

He caught her eye and his eyes lit up again, the left corner of his mouth hitching just a bit higher as he brushed his thumb along her hip before pulling it from her coat, taking her hand and pulling her to standing. She was still looking at him, and he chuckled, squeezed her hand, "What?"

"Your business smile! I finally saw it!"

They started walking back towards the house and James rolled his eyes, "I do not have a business smile. Sirius and Remus are making it - "

"No," Lily said, laughing and reaching up to brush a piece of hair out from underneath his glasses, "you do! It's this like, ultra-polite guy face you get!"

James sighed, "I'm just a bit on edge, maybe that's what it is."

Lily squeezed his hand, "You and me both, mate."

James chuckled and dropped a kiss to the side of her head before opening the kitchen door and gesturing for Lily to walk inside. Lily laughed, dropped his hand, and sank into a dramatic curtsy, "Thank you, good sir." James laughed loudly and pushed her through the door, "Prat." She spun around and grinned at him, grabbed his hand and pulled him into the kitchen - his free hand found her hip again and his eyes sparkled mischievously down at her.

"Hello, Lily. Who's this?"

Lily's entire body went stiff, James dropped her gaze, his eyes flicking over her shoulder. He squeezed Lily's hand before dropping his other hand from her hip so that Lily could turn around.

"Petunia." Her voice was far colder than she'd intended it to be, so she took a deep breath, tried again. It was always a hell of a lot easier for Petunia to make _her_ look like the antagonistic one if Lily didn't even make an effort, "This," Lily said, smiling broadly as she dropped James' hand and wrapped her arm around his waist instead, "is my boyfriend, James Potter." Her voice was far stiffer than usual, even a bit higher, but she needed to do what she could to compensate for the annoyance already beginning to simmer in her veins.

James leaned forward and stuck his hand out to shake Petunia's, but, in typical Petunia fashion, she just moved her judgey fucking eyes over him and smiled that baldly insincere smile, "Charmed."

Lily was seeing red.

James dropped his hand awkwardly back by his side, business smile still fixed on his face, "It's nice to meet you as well. Is your husband here? I've heard a lot about him, I'd like to introduce myself." James, too, sounded nothing like himself, but he was far better at disguising whatever it was he was feeling. If you didn't know him, you would have thought that he sounded fairly neutral, a bit casual, relaxed. _I need him to teach me how to do that._

Petunia's eyes shot to Lily who did her very best to maintain a neutral expression (she is pretty sure she failed, but she _tried_ ). Petunia looked back at James her eyebrow hitched up knowingly, something very like a sneer playing on her lips, "I'm sure you have. Vernon is showing Father our new car." The self-satisfied lift in her voice made Lily want to punch her. The feeling intensified when she turned to Lily and said, "Still taking the Underground around, aren't you?"

James must have felt Lily's entire body vibrating with anger because he dropped his arm around her shoulder, pressed her a bit closer into his side, "Well, living in London, it just don't make sense to have a car. Traffic, you know." His voice was still steadily neutral, but there was a harder edge to it now, a _we're not in the mood to be fucked with_ tone about it.

Petunia humphed, rolled her eyes, and traipsed back out of the kitchen.

Lily let out a deep, forceful breath and moved away from James immediately, threw her hands in the air. "What the _fuck_ is her problem!?" Lily hissed. She stripped her coat off, tossed it onto one of the chairs by the table before snatching the kettle off the hob and practically throwing it into the sink to fill it with water, "I haven't seen her in two bloody years, she's _just_ met you, and she's already being a fucking taint!" That last bit was a touch louder than she'd intended it to be, but she also couldn't find it in herself to care.

Lily pushed the lid back onto the kettle and slammed it down on the hob. She'd just turned on the flame when she felt James' arms wrap around her waist - he rested his chin on top of her head, pulled her back into his chest, let his hands move underneath the hem of her jumper. She was still livid, blood absolutely boiling in her veins she was so angry, but having James there made her at least feel like she had something solid to hang onto and she felt the harsh edge of her rage soften just a bit as he brushed his thumbs along her stomach.

They stood there quietly for a moment, James' fingers trailing along her skin, his breath blowing gently into her hair, listened to the water in the kettle start to simmer. After a minute, Lily let out a deep sigh, leaned back a bit more into James' chest. He hummed, his chest vibrating against her back, tightened his arms around her waist, moved his head down to her shoulder and nuzzled her neck, planting a few soft kisses to the spot she liked underneath her ear.

Lily sighed again, "You're amazing, you know that?"

James chuckled and Lily sucked in a breath as his body hummed against hers, his hot breath blowing against her neck, "Of course I know that," he said, pressing another kiss to her neck, "but it never hurts to hear it more often."

She rolled her eyes, but he was luckily spared the smack upside the head she usually followed such comments with because the kettle started screaming. James pressed one last kiss to her skin, this one to the underside of her jaw, before moving away and grabbing the teapot off the shelf over the sink.

They busied themselves with making a pot of tea, whispering truly nasty insults they could hurtle at Petunia should it come down to it (Lily's favourite was, by far, fucktrumpet because "the absurdity is what makes it, you know?"), and by the time they'd loaded a tray with all their tea things, Lily was feeling a lot better. Or "manageably angry" as she told James, smile fixed onto her face as she hoisted the tea tray into her arms and walked into the sitting room, James in her wake.

She was surprised to find that the sitting room was completely empty, though when she flicked her gaze to the window, it was obvious why. Petunia and Vernon were still outside talking about their bloody car with her parents. Lily groaned, "Fucking knobheads."

James laughed loudly, "I'll go let them know we made tea, yeah?"

Lily nodded, "I'll make you a cuppa."

He tipped his head in thanks and walked out of the sitting room.

When they all came in a minute later, Lily had to hold back the almost violent laugh threatening to burst out of her. Vernon was banging on, incessantly judging by the looks on her dad and James' faces, about his car, but Lily noticed that they kept shooting each other covert looks, rolling their eyes, and biting back grins, before interrupting Vernon with complete nonsense like, "Well, everyone knows that floral interior is the best for a car, why didn't you get floral interior?" and "Tell me, Vernon, what kind of brakes have you got on that thing?"

James caught her eye and shot her a wink when she reached out and handed him his teacup. He pressed a kiss to her cheek, whispered, "Thanks, love," and sat down beside her, cradling the tea in his hands and bumping his knee affectionately against hers. She smiled at him before turning her gaze towards her family, "We made tea."

Petunia shot her a glare as she made herself a cup, "Obviously."

And while that kind of cheek would have earned Lily at least a glare from her mother, Lily wasn't even remotely surprised to find that Petunia's remark had apparently fallen on deaf ears. James pressed his knee against hers and she turned, found him smiling softly at her. She smiled, took a sip of her tea, "Guess what?" James just grinned.

They sat around chatting rather amicably for a bit, her dad and James once again dominating the conversation and keeping Lily from deciding that a homicidal rampage would be a much more interesting way to spend her Christmas Eve. They chatted about, as usual, football - "We'll have to get back out there, Dave," James said, his knee bouncing against hers and he took another sip of his tea, "It's going to get really cold once the sun goes down." James' knee was bouncing so violently against hers now and Lily almost upended her tea. _Fidgety bastard._

"You know," Vernon said, interrupting whatever her dad had been about to say, "I always thought that football was a bit foolish."

"That's probably because you never played, Vernon," her dad was quick and though his tone was light, joking, Lily knew he meant it as an insult. He shot her and James a wink, and Lily saw James barely bite back the smile threatening to overwhelm his face.

"Now, Lily," Lily turned and found Petunia looking at her over the rim of her teacup. Lily braced herself for the nonsense that was, inevitably, about to spew out of her stupid mouth, "Mum was just telling me that you and James are sleeping in your room. Don't you think you and James ought to sleep in separate rooms?"

 _There it is._ Lily rolled her eyes, brought her teacup to her lips, and mumbled, "Don't you think you should fuck off?"

James must have heard her, because he snorted into his tea. Petunia scowled.

"You see," Petunia said, she turned to Vernon but made no effort to keep her voice down, "this is why Lily and I have never gotten on. She's hopelessly childish and she, apparently," she flicked her eyes towards James and raked them disapprovingly over him, "picks people much like herself to be involved with."

Lily downed the rest of her tea in one, set her cup down onto the tray as gently as she could manage, pushed herself to her feet, and stormed out of the room, taking immediately to the stairs. She heard someone, probably James, get to their feet and she was about to storm back downstairs and tell him to sit down, _she needed to be alone,_ when - "She's your sister for fuck's sake. There's no need to be a fucktrumpet, Petunia."

Lily roared with laughter as James walked out of the sitting room, his hand fisted in his hair and his cheeks flushed just a bit pink with anger. Lily walked quickly down the stairs, grabbed James' hand and pulled him out the front door, slamming it shut behind them.

"Lily, fuck, I'm so, so sor - "

Lily pressed her mouth fiercely to his, wrapped her arm around his waist and pulled him tightly against her, wound her fingers in the hair at the base of his neck. It took him a moment to adjust, having expected, apparently, to get yelled at, but it wasn't long before his hand wound its way into her hair and he shifted the tenor of the kiss. He pressed his hips more urgently against hers, but his lips began moving in smooth, languid strokes, the kind that he knew drove her mad, made her weak in the knees, made her absolutely bloody desperate. James shifted his hips against hers and Lily barely bit back a groan before breaking the kiss, pressing her forehead to his, " _Fuck_ , okay, we can't get too carried away."

James chuckled, pressed his body a bit more firmly against hers, "Yeah, that would be bad."

Lily smirked, "And yet," she looked pointedly down at their bodies, barely a breath of space between them, and James just grinned, tightened his arm around her waist.

"Thanks for that," she said, her eyes shining with amusement now. James groaned, pulled back a little, "I really didn't mean to - "

Lily snorted, "Yes you did."

He chuckled, "Alright, maybe I _wanted_ to call her that, but I didn't mean to let it slip out. How awkward is it going to be now?"

Lily sighed, pulled on his waist so that he was pressed against her again, moved her hand from the back of his neck to cup his cheek, "It was going to be awkward anyway, Petunia is a pisswizard."

James laughed, "Oh, we can use pisswizard for people other than David Cameron, now?" Lily chuckled, "I think my PhD means I can do whatever I want."

James leaned into her, let his lips brush against hers, "You cocky bastard." Lily smirked against his lips, "You're damn right."

As much as she wanted to get carried away, she knew it probably wasn't the wisest thing to do while standing outside her parents' front door. She pressed a few soft kisses to his lips before she sighed, took James' hand, "Ready?"

James groaned, "Not really, but as neither of us has our coats, I think we have to choose between being ready or resigning ourselves to freezing to death."

Lily pulled a serious thinking face, "Now that you mention it, freezing to death seems like a viable option."

James chuckled and poked her in the side, "Come on." Lily sighed but opened the door all the same.

They could hear quiet conversation floating out of the sitting room and Lily braced herself for whatever fuckery was about to come. She rounded on James, "Don't you dare apologise, whatever they say to you. I have a plan."

James snorted quietly, "I wasn't planning on it. But carry on."

They walked over and stood in the entry to the sitting room and Lily tugged on James' hand to keep him from crossing the threshold. She smiled warmly at her dad, and ignored the cold fury emanating from Petunia, "James and I are going to kick the ball round. Want in?"

Her dad beamed and hopped to his feet immediately, set his mug down on the centre table, "Absolutely. I'd love another chance to kick his arse."

James roared with laughter at her dad stepped forward and clapped him on the back, "Fat chance, mate, but we'll see."

The pair trooped out into the back garden and Lily shot her sister one final, withering glare before she followed them.

* * *

They spent the rest of the evening out in the back garden, only coming inside for a brief, bitterly silent dinner, before heading back outside to kick the ball around in the light from the outside lamps.

It was just before nine when her father finally brought it up. They were standing in a triangle kicking the ball back and forth, having long given up trying to play more aggressively (James had beat them even when she and her dad teamed up against him). James and her father occasionally showed off, kicking the ball up into the air, bouncing it off their chests, but they largely just passed it between one another and chatted about whatever popped into their heads.

"You know," her dad said, shooting a glance at Lily before kicking the ball to James, "I was hoping your sister might behave herself this week."

Lily snorted, stopped the ball with the inside of her left foot when James kicked it to her, "You've met Petunia haven't you?" she passed the ball back to her father.

James' shoulders were a bit stiffer than they were a few minutes earlier and she could tell that he was worried her dad was about to chastise him for being rude to his other daughter. As hilarious as the word 'fucktrumpet' is, it probably isn't something you want someone calling your kid. Her dad must have noticed too, because he passed the ball to James with a wry smile, "No need to worry, son, I'm not about to shout at you. Suz isn't too happy about it, of course, but I talked her down. You were just defending Lily and I don't see anything wrong with that."

James grinned, "I probably should have used a nicer word than fucktrumpet to communicate that, though," and her dad laughed, "Yeah, probably. But it's done now. And anyway, between the three of us, Petunia probably needed someone to call her a fucktrumpet years ago."

Lily snorted, "Dad!" He just shrugged, trapped the ball when Lily kicked it to him, "She's too uptight, your sister."

"Too bloody rude, more like." Lily said and her father chuckled, "Yeah, well." He kicked the ball back to James, "Anyway, don't let it go to your heads, either of you. You're great kids and anyone who says otherwise is, well, a fucktrumpet."

The three of them burst out laughing.

* * *

They finally went inside for the night around 10:30 - the wind had picked up and the air had gotten so bitterly cold that they couldn't feel the tips of their toes anymore. Petunia and Vernon, it seemed, were already in bed, so James and Lily walked as quietly as they could manage up the stairs to her room. Lily walked across the room, clicked on the lap on her bedside cabinet, and James chuckled, "You think we're both going to fit in there?" He nodded at her bed.

Lily grinned, "No choice, I'm afraid." She walked over to her bed to start rifling through her bag to find a pair of pyjamas. She tossed some things onto the bed before she picked up their bags and moved them to the floor under the window, straightened up, and drew the blinds. She turned around and caught James' eye and stripped down, probably (definitely) slower than she otherwise would have, letting each piece of clothing hit the floor before she moved to take off another. She watched James' eyes moving over her, sweeping over her skin in long, smooth lines trying to take in as much of her as he could in one go. She just grinned before pulling one of his old Magdalen t-shirts over her head and climbing into bed.

He sighed and kicked his trainers off behind the door, tossed his jumper and jeans behind him, clicked off the lamp before he climbed in beside her. "That was naughty, Evans." She just grinned, sure he could see her in the darkness, "I know."

He let his hand trail over her thigh, his fingertips tracing patterns over her skin. She tried to ignore him, let herself get sleepy, but as it always was, his fingers were lighting fires across her skin and the last thing she wanted to do now was fall asleep. She rolled onto her side to face him, "You can't be doing that, Potter. My parents are just down the hall."

James smiled wickedly, leaned over, whispered, "And we both know that you're _rubbish_ at staying quiet," and captured her lips in his. Even then a moan threatened to work its way out of her throat, but she bit it back, opting to sigh into him instead. James smirked against her lips, ran his hand up her side, over the curve of her hip, pulled her closer so that their chests were pressed together. His smirk grew into a full blown grin when Lily gasped against his lips and threaded her fingers through his hair.

She leaned her head back just a bit, "I know where this is going and it's not happening."

He chuckled, "I know, I just wanted to torture you a bit."

She slapped his chest but he caught her wrist, held her hand there. She could feel his heart hammering in his chest, beating as hard as hers was, like it was trying to fly out of his chest altogether. She shimmied herself just a bit closer to him, leaned forward and planted a soft kiss to his lips, "I love you."

James beamed, absolutely fucking beamed at her in the darkness, "I love you too, Evans."

* * *

Christmas Day was, mercifully, more manageable than the night before. James woke her up at the crack of bloody dawn ( _Bastard_ ), but he was just so excited and adorable that whatever irritated rage she'd felt had melted away relatively quickly.

"Can I give you my gift now?!" He was practically vibrating with excitement in bed and Lily chuckled in spite of herself, "Alright, go on then."

He hopped out of bed like someone has lit his arse on fire and began rummaging through his bag. "You can get yours while you're down there," Lily said, rolling over onto her side and smirking at him.

James turned and quirked an eyebrow, "Oh, I have to get my own present?" Lily shrugged, "It's wrapped."

James rolled his eyes, "Not the point," but he dug it out all the same.

He plopped back down onto the bed, his weight popping Lily up into the air. She shrieked a bit louder than she'd intended and James shushed her, laughing, as he handed her a small, painstakingly but still horribly wrapped, box. She smirked, "Nice wrapping."

He flushed, "Sirius kept distracting me and I'm shit at wrapping." Lily laughed, "I don't care," and she leaned over, kissed him softly.

"Alright," James was practically bouncing off the bed he was so excited, "Should you go first or shall I?"

Lily grinned, "Well, you look like you're getting ready to explode, so why don't you go first?"

James beamed, ripped the wrappings off, and tossed them onto the floor behind them. She was really, really fucking nervous because _what the fuck is a creative gift anyway?!_ but the way that his eyes lit up when he opened the box told her all that she needed to know. He looked up, a broad smile on his face, "Is this - ?" She grinned, "Yeah."

He moved aside the tissue in the box and looked up at her again, positively beaming, "My favourite picture of us." She nodded, "Your favourite picture of us."

Marlene had taken it the night she'd gotten back from Brussels - she was walking beside James through the grass in Wanstead Flats, and though she knew the grass was all brown for the winter, the rich red and gold of the setting sun made it look like the whole field had caught fire around them. Sirius and Remus were off to the side, laughing about something Lily couldn't remember now, but James had his fingers wound through hers, their foreheads were pressed together, and they were looking at one another like there was nothing, no one else, in the entire bloody universe. James had loved it from the moment Marlene had showed it to them on her camera and it was the only thing Lily could think to give him that was even remotely creative.

He leaned across the bed and kissed her before pulling back and looking at the picture again, "I love it. I love _you._ Thank you." She bit the corner of her lip before she smiled in return, "You're welcome."

"Alright," she said, smiling, "my turn." She went to pull open the wrappings, but James reached over, stilled her hands and she looked up at him.

"I…" he trailed off, looked nervous and Lily cocked an eyebrow, "Yes?"

James took a deep breath, "So, it's what's in this box and a question." It all came out in a rush and she was barely able to distinguish the individual words themselves. She looked back down at the parcel in her hands and felt her stomach clench. _What's in this box and a question. This box is the size of a fucking ring box. Oh my god oh my god oh my fucking god._ "Are…" she was hesitating now, "Are the box and the question related in any way?"

She tried to keep her voice neutral, didn't want him to think that she didn't want him to ask, but also didn't want to think that she was now expecting him to, but her hands were shaking just a bit more than she would have liked as she stared back at him, watching the colour rise on his cheeks.

"Sort of?" He voice spiked up at the end and Lily's heart rate picked up speed again. _But that would be breaking our rules. Though, who gives a bloody fuck about - EVANS. RELAX. WE DON'T EVEN KNOW THAT THIS IS WHAT THAT IS._

She took a deep breath and tugged on the corners of the wrapping to reveal a small cardboard box (her heart rate finally started to settle back down). She looked up at him and quirked an eyebrow, but she didn't need to continue torturing the poor man - he was already blood red, his fist was firmly rooted in his hair, and he was watching her nervously. She set the box down onto the bed, reached her hand out and took the hand not embedded in his hair. She smiled as reassuringly as she could, "Relax."

James just licked his lips, but said nothing. She laughed a bit, squeezed his hand, lifted the lid off the box with her free hand, and immediately burst out laughing. She scooped the gift out of the box and grinned, "A hedgehog keyring?" James nodded, "With a key to, uh… _our_ flat if you…"

Lily's heart fucking stopped.

" _Our_ flat?"

James just nodded.

"Are you asking me to move in with you?"

James visibly swallowed, nodded again.

It took everything Lily had not to scream. Instead she tugged on James' hand, pulled him across the bed and on top of her, kissed him fiercely. He pulled away a moment later, laughter bubbling out of him now, "Is that a yes?" She wound her fingers in the hair at the base of his neck, pulled his mouth back down to hers, "Yes. Absolutely fucking yes."


	9. Chapter 9

**This chapter… you guys. This could have easily been broken out into three goddamn chapters and I could have written more but fucking hell, I had to break it somewhere. Also, oops, I brought back the texting. Feel free to call me a fucktrumpet in the comments (or, better yet, call me the most colourful fucking swear you can think of (okay, but actually PLEASE I would fucking love that)).**

 **We're coming into the home stretch here, friends - I've got some plans re: these AU characters in the works, but we'll see what happens. Until then, enjoy xx**

* * *

From that point on, nothing anyone did was going to knock her down from her high, not even the fact that _the Dursleys_ were awake when James and Lily stumbled downstairs, half asleep and giddy, to make tea. Petunia and Vernon shot them dirty looks all morning, grumbling loudly about how disgusting it was that James apparently didn't own a hairbrush, about how Lily dressed like she just stumbled out of a workhouse (nevermind, apparently, that she was in James' bloody Oxford t shirt). Lily had, much to her surprise, managed to ignore them and focus on making tea (though, it helped that James kept doing things like brushing her hair back and peppering kisses along the side of her neck). The more affectionate they got, the more Vernon and Petunia grumbled, so, naturally, Lily made sure that she was _extra_ affectionate. Her parents were asleep anyway, so it wasn't like she was worried about one of them walking in and finding her with her hands down James' trousers. And with Petunia acting so bloody scandalised, how was she supposed to resist the temptation?

James had just wiggled out of her grasp, chuckling about how cold her hands were, when he grabbed a pair of mugs from the cabinet, turned and smiled warmly at Petunia, "Can we get you some tea?" Petunia scoffed, didn't bother answering, so James let his smile drop, shrugged, "A simple 'no' would have done." Lily snorted, barely stifled a laugh, and dropped tea bags into their mugs.

The tension in the kitchen only seemed to increase the longer she and James stood there, and Lily supposed they could have gone to wait in the sitting room while the kettle came to a boil, but _fuck that, I have as much right to be here as she does,_ and so she stood there defiantly, flirted the pants off James to see how much it would take before she could get Petunia to break. It was a cruel game, especially because her mother _had_ made a point to tell her that Petunia and Vernon were having problems, but Lily couldn't find it in herself to summon a single fuck. She might have been more sensitive to her sister's marital issues if she hadn't rolled into Middlesbrough yesterday like the colossal twat she is. _Still,_ James nudged her foot playfully with his, shot her a wink when Lily smiled broadly up at him, _it can't be fun watching two people as disgustingly in love as we are gallivant around when your marriage might be falling apart._

Any guilt she might have felt, though, was squashed when Petunia announced that she "wasn't aware that they were living in a brothel" and that Lily should "probably stop acting like such a slag of you want people to actually respect you."

A million very, very nasty things ripped through her mind just then, all the things she could say to absolutely _crush_ Petunia were right bloody there, but it was, after all, Christmas, and Lily couldn't bring herself to do it no matter how much she wanted to. Lily knew when to press an advantage, when to go in for the kill, but now, when Petunia was clearly reacting to some shit going on in her own life? It would have been _brutal_ to say any of the things that Lily's mind was begging her to say. And no matter how fucking horrible Petunia was, Lily just couldn't bring herself to be ruthless, to sink to Petunia's fucking level. So instead, Lily smiled brightly, held her fingers up in a V, and strolled out of the kitchen, cuppa tea in hand and James on her arm. He snorted, buried his face into her neck to try and stifle a laugh as they walked into the corridor, "I think your happiness pisses them off more than anything else."

Lily looked up at him and beamed, "Well unfortunately for those bellends, I'm going to be pretty fucking happy today."

They took their tea into the sitting room, snuggled up against one another on the sofa, chatted quietly so they didn't wake her parents (or invite any additional ire from Petunia).

"So," Lily said, twisting on the couch and draping her legs across James' lap, "who knows you were planning to ask me to move in?"

James rested his hand on the inside of her knee, "Well, the whole fam knows…"

Lily gasped, "WHAT?! And they didn't let it slip?!"

James chuckled, ran his hand lightly up and down her calf, "I'm honestly surprised, too. Sirius is _shit_ at keeping secrets."

Lily grinned, "Marlene, too. Like, utter shite. She tries, bless her, but she just gets so fucking excited and she loses it every time."

James laughed, "Sounds exactly like Marls."

Lily pulled her mobile out of her back pocket, "Guess we might as well let them know that I said yes, huh?" She quirked an eyebrow at James and he flushed a bit, "Yeah, probably wise. Sirius started texting me last night with 'really brilliant plans' about what we could do if you turned me down."

Lily laughed, looked up from her mobile, "Like what?!"

James rolled his eyes, "The usual things. Leave England," he ticked them off on his fingers, "assume another identity, join some kind of travelling circus… though, now that I think about it, I don't think they do those anymore?"

Lily snorted, "Those are the _usual_ things?"

James shrugged, "It was the escape plan we created for him when we were kids. We used to think that joining a travelling circus would have fixed all his problems." Lily reached over silently, took James hand. He was quiet for a moment before he turned, smiled lightly at her, "Instead, he just moved to our house, brought the circus to us."

Lily laughed, "Sounds like Sirius."

She had never tried to dig too much into Sirius' background, largely because she didn't think that it was any of her business and she didn't want to drag all that shit up again in Sirius' mind if she could help it. But she'd pieced together enough, from one-off comments that Sirius made about his "fucking thundercunt of a mother" and his "world renowned brilliance with concealer," and little bits of stories from James and Remus, largely about Sirius showing up on their doorsteps in the middle of the night with mysterious injuries. It was enough to know that, if Sirius' mother were still alive and Lily happened upon her in the street, Lily would kill her with her bare hands and toss her into a fucking skip to rot. It was probably a bit extreme, but she was a bit… protective.

Lily picked her mobile up again, unlocked it, and opened their group chat -

 _Group Message - "The Holiday Fam"_

 _25 December_

 _Lily Evans:_ So, I'm sure you're all waiting for an update, aren't you?

Sirius was, as always, the quickest out of the gate -

 _Group Message - "The Holiday Fam"_

 _25 December_

 _Sirius Black:_ Why, Red, whatever do you mean?

 _Lily Evans:_ You know what I mean you git

 _Marlene McKinnon:_ GSKYSKYSKGS AND?! STOP HOLDING US IN SUSPENSE EVANS OR WE'LL COME UP THERE AND KICK YOUR ARSE

 _Sirius Black changed the group name to Speak for yourself, McKinnon_

 _Remus Lupin:_ BLACK. WHY DID YOU CHANGE MY PUNNY GROUP NAME?!

 _Sirius Black changed the group name to Sorry love, your puns aren't nearly as good as mine_

 _Remus Lupin:_ We're getting divorced

 _Lily Evans:_ Excuse me, I think we're getting a bit distracted here. We're supposed to be focusing on me

 _Sirius Black:_ Wow, so self-centred, Red

 _Remus Lupin:_ Yeah, Lily, christ. You think you'd care a bit more about my impending divorce

Lily held her mobile up to James and he snorted, "That's what you get for trying to get these berks to focus on anything for more than five seconds."

Lily groaned. James chuckled, kissed the back of her hand, and she laughed in spite of herself.

 _Group Message - "The Holiday Fam"_

 _25 December_

 _Lily Evans:_ Fuck off you two.

 _Remus Lupin:_ We've done quite enough of that this morning, thank you

 _Sirius Black:_ Speak for yourself ;)

 _Lily Evans:_ For fucks sake

 _Marlene McKinnon:_ IGNORE THOSE KNOBS. ARE YOU GOING TO TELL US OR NOT?!

 _Lily Evans:_ ;)

 _Marlene McKinnon:_ EVANS DONT MAKE ME GET ON A TRAIN

 _Lily Evans:_ Alright, alright - we're moving in together!

 _Marlene McKinnon:_ AKYSKYSKYSKYSLDLDKYDKYDOYDLFLUDKYDK I FUCKING KNEW IT

 _Marlene McKinnon:_ YOU GUYSSSS OMG IM SO FUCKING HAPPY FOR YOU

*Sent with Confetti*

 _Sirius Black changed the group name to hip hip hooray I still don't care_

 _Remus Lupin:_ Sirius is a lying shitsack, he just shrieked so loudly Euphemia almost had a heart attack

 _Sirius Black:_ WOW. WHY HAVE YOU BETRAYED ME, LUPIN

 _Remus Lupin:_ … Anyway, congrats, guys! Tell James we said hi, Lils! We're so happy for you two!

 _Sirius Black changed the group name to SPEAK FOR YOUR FUCKING SELF, LUPIN_

 _Remus Lupin changed the group name to The Holiday Fam_

 _Remus Lupin:_ If you change my group name again, I'll fucking stab you

 _Sirius Black:_ You wouldn't

 _Remus Lupin:_ Don't test me

 _Marlene McKinnon:_ You two are sitting next to each other having a conversation in the group chat like a bunch of prats. GET OUT

 _Lily Evans:_ OKAY LOVE YOU ALL, THANKS FOR THE CONGRATS, JAMES SAYS HI EVERYONE BYEEEEE

Lily handed her mobile to James, "Look at how extra these fuckers are." He scrolled through the conversation, laughed as he handed the phone back to her, "I most certainly did not say hi."

Lily dropped the mobile onto the couch at her feet, bumped her knee into his stomach, "Don't tell them that, we'll never get them to stop talking if we start them back up again."

James leaned forward, pressing Lily's legs into his chest, and sat his mug on the coffee table before taking hers out of her hands and setting it next to his. Lily scoffed, "Oi!"

James just chuckled, leaned over and pressed his forehead to hers. He was still smiling, but something about it had shifted - it was more than just that light, playful smile he usually gave her, but it was hard to pinpoint what was making the difference. There was a resonance about it, the sense that the little bit of happiness that this smile communicated was nothing, absolutely nothing, compared to the amount of happiness that he felt. His eyes were shining a brilliant hazel, burning into hers, his forehead was warm against her skin, and when he pulled back, just a bit, and began moving his eyes over her face, his smile got infinitely brighter and she was overwhelmed in the best way. She felt her breath catch in her throat, her stomach start tying itself up in knots, and she couldn't quite explain the way that he was looking at her just then, but it was speaking to all the things she felt looking at him, like he'd plucked her heart out of her chest and was just reflecting it back to her. It wasn't the first time he'd overwhelmed her, but it was probably the best time, made even better by the fact that she knew that, with James, there would always be bigger and better times, that she'd never quite get used to the way that she felt when he was looking at her like he was right now. The fact that this had happened at random, with no context other than the quiet moment they were sharing, made her heart ache.

He reached up with his right hand, his thumb brushing the apple of her cheek and the ends of his fingers tangling in her hand, "We'll get to do this every morning," he said. His voice was quiet but they were sitting so close together that it felt like the sound was moving through her when he spoke. "Sit here," he continued, running his thumb along her cheek, pressing the pads of his fingers into the back of her neck, "drink tea… you'll have to wear my Oxford shirts to bed every night, of course, because you," he pulled back again, let his eyes trail down her body before he looked up at her, his smile absolutely devious, "look stunning."

He moved his left hand to the outside of her thigh, trailed his fingers to the hem of the shorts she'd barely remembered to pull on before stumbling out of their room that morning. She pulled in a sharp breath and the corner of his mouth hitched up, as it always did, as he watched her begin to unravel in his hands. Still, she breathed a shaky laugh, forced her mouth into a smirk, "Better than you in my St Andrews shirts, I suppose."

James leaned closer, slid his hand up the hem of her shorts, his fingers pressing against the edge of her knickers and making her lightheaded, "Oh, I don't know, Evans, I think I could pull them off. They might be a bit tight, but..." he trailed off, shot her a wink.

Her heart was hammering in her chest, and she knew that he knew it. _Fucking Potter and his fucking banter._ She groaned, grabbed his face in her hands, and pulled his mouth to hers, doing her best to ignore the self-satisfied smirk now playing on his lips.

James shifted underneath her as soon as their lips met, turned his body so he could press himself as close to her as possible. Every part of her, already, was screaming to grab him by the collar, lay back onto the couch, pull him on top of her, feel the way his body fit against hers, the long, firm planes of his chest, his stomach, his hips pressing against her and making her breathless. She was thankful, though, for the distance that their position was forcing, thankful because, judging by the way that she was responding, she wouldn't put it past her bloody body to decide that _surely we can fool around on the couch a bit, WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?_

It was a damn good thing, too, because just as she wound her fingers into his hair, a low rumble thrumming through James' chest and making her sigh against his lips, someone cleared their throat _very_ loudly from behind them.

Lily jumped about a metre in the air, and, because it wasn't quite awkward enough, she knocked James' glasses off his face in her desperation to catapult herself off his lap. Her dad was standing there smirking at them when she whirled around - "Happy Christmas, kids."

Lily flushed a brilliant red, "Happy Christmas, Dad."

James, the bastard, slung his arm over her shoulder casually, "Happy Christmas, Dave. Kettle's still on the hob if you'd like some tea, water's probably still warm."

Her dad grinned, "Cheers," and, chuckling, walked out of the sitting room.

Lily collapsed back onto James' chest and his arms moved immediately around her waist. She groaned into the fabric of his t shirt, "I think I'm going to die of embarrassment."

She could practically feel him rolling his eyes, "Relax, he doesn't care." Lily sighed, leaned her head backwards so she could see his face without having to sit up. He snorted, "Attractive look."

She waggled her eyebrows, "Only the best for you, love."

He just leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Both of her parents wandered into the sitting room a bit later, though Lily had had the sense to turn the television on so they had something else to focus on when they got in. Her dad, much to her chagrin, started laughing when he walked back into the sitting room and Lily hoped, desperately, that the couch would just swallow her up already.

James, to his credit, didn't seem to care one bit - he had his arm around her shoulders, fingers twirling pieces of her hair like it was any other morning and they _hadn't_ just been interrupted by her father in the middle of a heated snog. It was James' ability to act cool under pressure, to decide that he didn't care one bit about being caught _demonstrating his affections_ that made her love him all the more. He balanced her out a bit, made her feel like she could, in fact, continue to exist on the planet after something like this happened.

"I've just put the turkey in," her mum said, smiling over at them from her arm chair near the window, "Everything else is nearly ready to go." Lily smiled, patted her stomach, "Thank god, I'm starving."

Her dad laughed, "You're always starving, Lils."

Petunia and Vernon eventually wandered in and they began the now very brief process of exchanging gifts. Lily and Petunia hadn't given one another gifts in years, not since Petunia had sent Lily's gift back to her her first year of uni, but they both exchanged gifts with their parents. Mum, of course, still made them up a stocking every year - it was one of the only holdovers that remained from their childhood Christmases. Mum couldn't sneak in and leave gifts at the foot of their bed, didn't sit with them and read _A Christmas Carol_ in the two weeks leading up… the little stockings were Mum's way, she'd told them through tears a few years back, of making her feel like her daughters were still little kids again.

Her mum handed Lily's old, tattered green stocking over to her and passed, surprisingly, a new, red one over to James, "Didn't want you to feel left out, James." Her mum smiled softly at James in a way that, Lily knew, was meant to show him that he'd been forgiven (though he might want to watch what he called Petunia from then on). James smiled back, "Thanks, Suzanne."

They all opened their gifts in turn, and Lily, the youngest (except James, but he'd insisted that he could open his stocking when Lily opened hers, that "reminding Lily that's she's the old one was present enough," the git), opened a handful of books she'd been eyeing, the biggest chocolate orange she'd ever seen, and one of her mother's new, hand knitted blankets. "I know how cold it gets in your flat," her mum said, smiling as she watched Lily wrap the cream coloured blanket around herself, "because you and Marlene never turn the damn heating on. This should keep you from freezing to death."

Lily explained that they most certainly do turn the heating on, but she was glad she had a new blanket anyway. "The one you knitted me before uni is a bit shabby now," Lily said, folding the blanket carefully in her lap.

She and James sat quietly and opened their stockings while Petunia opened whatever it was their parents had gotten her. Her stocking was, Lily chuckled, full of the usual things - a new pair of fuzzy socks, a clementine, a bunch of her favourite chocolate candies, and a new hat that her mum had knitted, cream to match her blanket.

Lily pulled the hat on, a slouchy, beanie style hat that was, surprisingly, pretty cool. "Aw," James rubbed the top of her head affectionately, "you look cute, Evans!"

Lily flushed bright red when her parents turned and caught her eye. She waited until they turned to look at Petunia again before she elbowed James in the ribs.

James' stocking, too, had socks, candies, and an orange, but it was the last thing he pulled out that had them both in stitches. Her dad, because there was no way it was her mum, had bought him a Middlesbrough scarf and her mum (at Dad's request, surely) had knitted a hat to match.

James started laughing the moment he pulled the scarf out of the stocking, "Dave, this has you written all over it, mate." Dave turned and grinned at James, "Thought you'd like to support a proper club instead of that posh one you follow."

James grinned, "At least Chelsea is solidly Premier - what about this lot, Dave?" James held up the scarf and her dad gave James the finger. James just laughed, slung the scarf over his shoulders, and pulled on the bright red hat her mum had knitted, "Lils, what do you think?"

Lily just rolled her eyes, "I think I don't care one bloody bit about football, but you look nice in red."

James shot her dad a look and they both rolled their eyes.

Her dad loved, not surprisingly, the match tickets Lily had got him and Lily swore he was close to tears when he unwrapped the new football shirt James had got him. "How'd you know I like Bamford?" James shrugged, "Lucky guess, really. I tried to ask Lily, but she had no bloody idea."

Her dad shook his head, "She never did appreciate football enough."

Lily rolled her eyes, "Oh, sod off."

Dad and James just laughed.

Mum opened the huge box of yarn Lily had picked out, gasped excitedly when she opened the new novel Lily had picked out. "The new Hawkins?!" Lily nodded, "Yeah, I know you liked her first book. Apparently this one is good, too."

She even liked the candle James had picked out for her, though by the look on her face, she knew that it was one of those absurdly expensive ones. Still, she got up from her chair, crossed the room, and pulled James into a brief hug. Lily noticed her whisper something into his ear and James nodded when her Mum pulled back, but James just smiled softly at her, took her hand when Lily raised an enquiring eyebrow.

Her dad passed around a bin liner for all the paper and her mum wandered into the kitchen to check dinner. James stood up to take the liner from her dad and he smiled at James, nodded his thanks, and sat back down in the other armchair by the window while James walked out of the sitting room.

"You know, Lils," her dad said, leaning back in the chair and smiling softly at Lily, "he's pretty great, that James."

Petunia scoffed from where she was sitting on the floor and though Lily had turned instantly towards her, her mouth open in rage, her dad turned severely towards her before Lily could say anything. "Enough, Petunia. Let your sister be happy for once." His voice, usually light and genial, was sharper than Lily had heard it in a long time, and Lily and Petunia both knew that Dad meant business.

As such, Petunia sent Lily a glare, but she said nothing.

Lily took a deep breath before looking back over at her dad, smiling warmly, "Thanks, Dad. James _is_ pretty great, isn't he?"

Her dad smiled, beamed at her - "He really, really is."

* * *

They sat down to dinner a few hours later, after Lily and her dad convinced James to sit through another viewing of _Die Hard_ and James dragged her dad back outside for another round of football. James and her dad kicked their trainers off on the back patio and stumbled into the house just before dinner, both coated in a thin sheen of sweat, gasping for breath, and laughing like a pair of fools.

Her mother set a platter of pigs in a blanket on the table, turned around and smiled exasperatedly at the pair of them. Her mum kissed her dad on the cheek and grinned at James, "You're going to kill him if you two keep this up." James chuckled, "Dave is better than he lets on, Suzanne, believe me."

Petunia set a bowl of stuffing on the table and stalked off to wash her hands.

Lily was standing at the counter and James walked up behind her, put his hands on her hips and pressed a kiss to her cheek. She laughed, "I have a knife in my hand, you git." James just rested his chin on her shoulder, turned his head to whisper in her ear, "There's something sexy about watching you carve a turkey, Evans."

Lily snorted, "You're fucked up."

"Language, Evans." She could feel his smile against her skin and she shuddered a bit. His smile just got wider. He pressed a quick kiss to her neck before he backed away, moved to the sink to wash his hands and turned to her mother, "What can I help with, Suzanne?"

Her mum smiled, handed James another platter, "Can you put these on the table for me and then pour the wine?"

Despite the fact that Petunia and Vernon were there, Lily managed to actually enjoy herself a bit at dinner (though, that probably had more to do with the fact that she'd single-handedly finished a bottle of wine and she'd spent the latter part of the meal with James' fingers tracing patterns on her thigh). Vernon had droned on and on about this new tool company he was working for (Lily had snorted into her glass on wine when he'd said it), Petunia talked about the new house they'd moved into… Lily just swirled wine around her glass, chatted with James and her dad about London, ate so much food that she wasn't sure, when the meal was over, that she would physically be able to move anymore.

She groaned, leaned her head on James' shoulder when he tried to drag her out of the chair, "Come on love," James said, chuckling, but Lily just groaned again, "I think I'm dying."

Her dad laughed, "She does this every year."

Lily shot him a look, "It isn't my fault that Mum's cooking is so bloody good."

Her mum grinned, "Thanks, Lils, but for goodness' sake, you'd think you would have learned your lesson by now."

Lily let James pull her to her feet, stretched her arms over her head. "Alright, Mum. Where should we start?"

They cleaned up the kitchen, chatting amicably while they scooped food off of platters and into storage containers. Her mum pulled out a giant plate of mince pies and Lily gasped, "No Christmas pudding this year?!"

Her mum laughed, "No one ever eats it, I figured why bother?"

Lily nodded, shrugged, "We can light something else on fire, I guess."

Her mother, sighed, "Lily, how old are you?"

"About five," Petunia mumbled under her breath, shooting Lily a look. Lily took a deep breath, averted her eyes, finished covering the stuffing with clingfilm.

It took them another fifteen minutes or so to finish washing the dishes and getting everything at least passably tidy. As soon as she handed James the last plate to dry, she turned around, rested her back against the worktop, "Christmas walk anyone?"

Petunia and Vernon walked out of the kitchen without saying anything and her mum gave Lily a sympathetic look, "Sorry, love," she said, walking over to pat Lily on the arm, "I don't want your sister to have to be here alone." Lily bit back the retort that was on the edge of her tongue, the _you're always going to take Petunia's side, aren't you?_ that would have made her more childish than she would have liked. She turned expectantly towards her dad, but he, too, just smiled softly, "Why don't you and James get away for a bit? You can show him the town… I should probably spend some time with your sister and," he grimaced and Lily couldn't help the surge of affection she felt for her father, "her husband. And anyway, I have to take you kids to the train at 5:30 tomorrow and I'm an old man now, Lils. I need my sleep."

Lily nodded - she was disappointed, sure, but she understood. And, after all, it would be nice to have some time alone with James. Her dad went to walk out of the kitchen when Lily put her hand on his arm, "Dad, wait," she shot a quick look at James, "we wanted to tell you something."

Her dad broke into a wide smile, "Did he - " her dad's gaze flickered behind her and he broke off suddenly. Lily turned towards James and cocked an eyebrow - he just shrugged, but there was something guilty in his face that she couldn't quite place. Lily eyed him suspiciously for a moment (watching him sweat was always more fun than she was willing to admit) before turning back to her dad, "James asked me to move in with him this morning."

Her dad beamed, "That's great!" He pulled them both into a hug, laughter bubbling out of all of them. He held them at arm's length, "I am so, so happy for the two of you. You're moving to his, then? Or is he moving to yours?"

Lily looked up at James, "I'm going to move to his. He's a bit further down the Central line and his flat is a lot bigger than mine and Marlene's."

Her dad grinned again and he looked so genuinely happy for them both that Lily felt a knot start to form in her throat. It only got worse when her dad spoke again and his voice sounded thick and Lily noticed the tears forming in the corners of his eyes, "Well," her dad cleared his throat, "you let me know if you need help, yeah? I'll take the train down."

A few tears escaped as she pulled her dad back in for another hug, "Thanks, Dad."

He hugged her for a few moments before pulling back, turning his gaze to James, "You're a good lad," he said, reaching out to clap James on the back, "I'm glad she found you."

"Believe me, Dave," James said, dropping his arm over her shoulders and grinning down at her, "I'm glad I found her, too."

* * *

Before long, James and Lily were sliding into their coats and kissing her parents goodbye, and Lily was pulling her trainers on at the backdoor while James stumbled outside to try and locate his trainers in the dark. Once he'd managed to find his shoes, James linked his arm through hers, let her lead them through the back garden and up the drive towards the street. Lily turned left once they hit the sidewalk and James pulled the red hat her mum had knitted for him out of his pocket and slid it down over his ears.

Lily laughed, "It's so weird seeing you without your hair all over the bloody place."

James bumped his hip against hers, "No worries, love, my hair will be back in its usual form by the time I take this thing off."

They turned left at the intersection and Lily leaned further into his side - now that they were out from behind the houses, the wind was a bit stronger and she could feel her cheeks starting to flush against the cold. There was a large group of people on the other side of the street, laughing and chatting as they, too, walked north up Tollesby. James smiled down at her, "Where we headed?"

Lily shrugged, "Well, we usually just walk up to the pub after dinner, so I figured we could head in that direction. It's pretty far, but, uh," she flushed, "it's pretty much the only place I remember how to walk to anymore."

James nodded in understanding, "Yeah, I can't really remember my way around home anymore, either. I feel like I've been away for so long now."

"At least you live close to home, though," Lily said, "I don't ever come up here anymore. I don't feel like I even _sound_ like I'm from here anymore."

"You know," James said, smiling a bit, "you did start to sound a lot more Northern once we got up here."

"What?!" Lily gasped and James just laughed, "Yeah! Your vowels are a bit more rounded, you know. And like you're talking a bit faster? Like you're not saying whole words, I guess. I don't know how to describe it."

Lily hummed, "I guess you're right, now that I think about it. But I don't think I sound like a Southerner or whatever when we're home?" James shook his head, "No, like I knew when I first talked to you that you weren't from London. I was just more… subdued? I'm sure living abroad and then living in London softened it a bit."

Lily laughed, "Christ, I wonder what I sounded like when I was living up in Scotland. My accent probably went completely mad."

They walked past the last row of houses and Lily pointed out the huge field on their right. "I used to play football there as a kid. I was, obviously, utter shite, so I didn't play long. But I used to come out here at night sometimes, muck about with Marlene."

James laughed, "I can just imagine the two of you."

Lily rolled her eyes, "It wasn't the most exciting thing in the world, but we used to like it. We'd come out here in the middle of the night, lay in the middle of the field and just chat. You couldn't see the stars or anything, not with all the lights, but we still did it all the same."

"Where did Marlene live?"

Lily pointed behind them, "She lived on Lunedale, the street right behind mine. Two houses down."

They passed another few rows of houses, turned left, then right - there were more people out on the street now, and Lily sighed, rested her head on James' upper arm. "I've missed this," she said. Her voice was quiet and she wasn't sure he would be able to hear her over the sound of the people on the street, but he turned his head a bit, pressed a kiss to the top of her head, "Miss what, love?"

"Being alone," Lily said, chuckling a bit, "walking through the city at night with you. It's one of my favourite things to do. To be in the middle of all this energy but it's just the two of us. It's like we're in the middle of something but also in our own world," she shrugged, "I just like it."

James looked down at her for a moment, "I like it, too."

Lily pointed out a few more landmarks as they passed, the art school on their left, the white house on the corner she'd always liked up on the right. They finally saw the Tesco Express on the corner ahead and Lily shrieked, "Oh my god, I didn't get us lost!"

James laughed, "I'm glad you're telling me _now_ that you weren't sure you could get us here, Evans."

Lily just bumped her hip against him, took her arm from his, grabbed his hand instead and drug him across the road. "Ohhh," James said as she pulled him through the door of the pub, "the tattoo place next door is open."

Lily snorted, "Not a fucking chance, Potter."

The swoop of nostalgia in her chest as they walked through the door was completely unexpected. She was forcefully reminded of all the nights she'd spent here with Marlene after they'd both turned 18, how they'd drowned Lily's home troubles in beer and gin whenever Lily was home from uni on holiday. The pub was just as she remembered - the light wood floors, random collection of white topped tables and dark pub chairs, the labels all over the ceiling - and the fact that it had stayed the same over all these years, when so much in her life had changed, sat strangely in the pit of her stomach. The pub was busy but not packed (yet), and Lily moved them easily through the crowd to a small table in the corner under the menu.

"What do you want?" she asked, stripping her coat off and setting it down on the back of the tall wooden bench. James glanced up at the chalkboard overhead, "Top of the Hops is local, yeah?" Lily nodded. "Alright," James said, pulling his hat off and stuffing it into his jacket pocket before stripping his coat off, too, "I'll take one of those."

Lily walked over to the bar and came back a few minutes later, two golden pints in hand. James laughed as she sat down across from him, slid him his pint, "You're not drinking gin?" Lily shrugged, took a long pull from her glass, "When in Rome."

James chuckled, followed her lead, and took a long draught.

* * *

When they got into the car next morning, Lily was still half asleep. Her dad and James, _bastards,_ were wide awake, chatting away, and though she wanted to smack them both so they would just _shut. up._ they'd at least had enough sense to make Lily a large travel mug of tea before they left. Lily sat in the back, sipped her tea quietly, and let her brain warm up slowly.

They hadn't stayed at the pub long last night, only had a few pints before they walked home, arm in arm, the cold air sobering them up and making them flush red as the wind blew against their cheeks. What had been a 15 minute walk on the way there, was easily two, three times as long on the walk home… not counting the long lie down they'd taken in the field she'd pointed out on their way there. Lily flushed just thinking about the way James' cold fingers had felt against her skin, how hot his mouth felt against hers compared to the icy grass underneath her back...

They pulled up at the station at half five, only twenty minutes before their train was set to leave. Lily and James climbed out of the car, pulled their bags from the boot, grabbed her dad in hugs in turn. "It was great seeing you kids," her dad said, smiling back at them as Lily hitched her bag onto her shoulder, "You two will have to come up here and go to that Boro match with me."

Lily smiled, "Dad, I bought those so you could go with your mates."

Her dad shrugged, "I'd rather go with you two."

Lily chuckled, pulled her dad in for a hug again, "Alright, well, we'll figure it out closer to the time, yeah?"

James nodded, "I think Boro plays Chelsea this season, too. Maybe you can come down and see a match on our pitch."

Her dad laughed, clapped James on the back, "Alright, son, you let me know and I'll be there."

Lily pulled her dad in for a final hug before she and James turned and walked into the station. It was dead quiet at this hour - no one in their right mind was taking the 5:55 Boxing Day express train and James had, mercifully, bought their tickets back in November, so they didn't need to talk to anyone once they were in the station. The brightness of the station's overhead lights was jarring after the darkness outside, and Lily's head began to throb in earnest. She waved James off to fetch her another tea ( _stupid chuckling bastard_ ) and sat down on the nearest bench, tipped her head back, and closed her eyes while she waited for him to return.

She had a bit of a headache, but it was the exhaustion more than anything that was killing her. Though James had fallen asleep the moment his back hit her mattress last night, Lily had lain awake for at least a few hours after they'd gotten home. At least, it had felt like a few hours - she'd still had enough alcohol zinging through her veins to make tracking time a bit more difficult than usual. She wasn't even sure what was actually keeping her fucking awake, even thinking back on it now, she couldn't quite pin down a reason. _It was probably just being back home and being crammed into that tiny bed with that fidgety bastard._

"Hey."

Lily sat up, opened her eyes - James was grinning down at her, two huge cups of tea in his hands. Lily grabbed one and took a long drag, humming contentedly, "Thanks."

James sat down next to her, crossed his legs and propped his tea up on his knee, "No problem, love."

They sat there in silence, Lily practically chugging her tea, ignoring the fact that she was burning the fuck out of her throat, while James looked around at all the station's old architecture. She could tell that he wanted to talk to her about it because he loved this kind of shit, but he was wonderful enough to give her a few more minutes of quiet before the train arrived.

She finished her tea and James held out his hand, took her empty cup, pitched it into the bin beside him. Lily smiled, "Thanks," and James just grinned, "Feeling better?"

Lily shrugged, "Yeah" - she was still feeling a bit shite, but it was going to take a few minutes until the tea kicked in. James just took her hand. They sat there quietly for a few beats, James' eyes moving over the brick wall opposite. "They rebuilt it after the war," Lily said. She figured she might as well talk with him about it a bit and wasn't disappointed in his reaction - James turned to her, eyes wide with interest, "Really?!"

She laughed, elbowed him in the side, "Nerd." He just grinned, "Don't act like you don't love me for it, Evans."

Lily rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah."

"So anyway," James said, "you were saying?"

He was so excited that she almost laughed again, _adorable fucking nerd._ "Middlesbrough was one of the first places the Germans bombed," she said, "all the industry and shit, you know." James nodded.

"So yeah, this place got it early and often. I think most of the city centre was destroyed. Anyway, a lot of this stuff is fairly new. That's why it looks like this." She gestured around at the vast brick walls, the large empty spaces of the station.

"Cool," James said, "Well, you know, not cool, but _cool_."

Lily laughed, "Yeah, I get it."

When the train pulled up a few minutes later, Lily hitched her bag back up onto her shoulder and followed James towards the nearest carriage.

" _What_?" she said, smirking, "You didn't get the fanciest compartment in England again?"

James grinned, "That's when we transfer in York. We're only on the TP for an hour."

Lily sighed, "I can't believe you're doing this to me. Making me sit in _standard class._ "

James snorted, "Shut up, Evans."

They walked towards the front of the carriage, stowed their bags overtop of the seats near the door to the next car. Lily sat down in the seat by the window, kicked her feet up under the table, and propped them up onto the seat opposite. James sat down beside her, and, after a few moments, pressed a kiss to her temple.

Lily looked away from the window, "What was that for?"

James shrugged, "Wanted to."

The lights in the car had been dimmed, thankfully, and Lily hoped they would stay that way as long as they were on the train. The sun wasn't due to rise until 8:30 at least, so she was hoping that she could lean her head back and maybe catch a quick nap. She wasn't nervous about meeting James' mum, not since they'd been talking on the phone for the past few months, but she still wanted to be at her best. _And squash the bit of hangover tugging at my temples because damn that shit is real. You're not young forever, apparently._

Lily leaned her head back onto James' shoulder but kept her eyes trained on the window, watched the few people in the station moving around the platform. James leaned his cheek onto the top of her head, but didn't say anything until the train actually started to move.

"You alright, Evans?"

Lily had been staring out the window, watching the buildings outside move past as the train pulled out of the station. They were distinguishable at first, large squares illuminated by the occasional street lamp, but as the train started to pick up speed, they all blended together into a dark, solid mass that looked almost inseparable from the darkness.

She turned her head a bit so that she could see James - his features weren't sharply defined in the low light, but she could see his face well enough to know that he looked worried. She shrugged again, "I just feel a bit off, I guess."

James wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulled her closer into his side, and Lily laid her head down onto his shoulder again. "I'm happy that I got to come back up," she said, "see my parents and all that. Show you around," she saw him looking at her reflection in the window, barely there against the darkness, and she smiled, "but I just…" she trailed off, not sure what to say.

"Is it leaving?" James asked, letting his fingers brush lightly along her upper arm. She shook her head, "No, I don't think so. I mean, I'm always happy to hang out with my parents and I miss them sometimes when I'm back home, but I..." she trailed off again.

James was still studying her face in window.

The train turned. Lily could see the dark, smooth shadow of the River Tees outside.

It became clear to her that James was more than happy to sit there silently while she riddled out whatever she was thinking about, something that would have been helpful if she'd actually been able to put a finger on what it was that she was feeling. She just felt… _exhausted_ , physically, obviously, because she'd gotten literally no sleep the night before, but also mentally, emotionally.

She'd known, going into it, that it was going to be… interesting… bringing James up to Christmas at her parents', especially after the showdown with her mother back in Brussels. Her dad, of course, had been wonderful, but he and James had gotten on immediately, cackling like kids out in the carpark in Brussels, exchanging mobile numbers ( _gits_ ), playing football in the back garden the moment they'd gotten to her parents' house. Her mum had been a tougher sell, but she'd appeared to come round… at least where James was concerned.

Though, that's what it was, really. Her mum dropping on her that Petunia and Vernon were coming, Petunia acting like a fucking cockwomble the moment she walked through the door, her mum letting it happen, taking Petunia's fucking _side._ It was the notion of sides more than anything else, maybe, that was upsetting. This wasn't a child's fight anymore, wasn't two sisters shouting at each other about a stolen jumper, a permanently stained dress - they'd been on opposing sides for over a decade now, had barely spoken to one another in all that time, and Lily wasn't sure what they were fighting about anymore. She couldn't even remember the first shot being fired. Maybe it was St Andrews, maybe it was calling Vernon a twatface over dinner the first time he came home to meet the family, maybe it was something long, long before that, something that had since buried itself in her memory.

At this point, it didn't matter what the first shot was anyway - it was the most recent shot that mattered. And, apparently, having the audacity to bring her boyfriend home, to let herself laugh and smile and have a good time in the same house that Petunia was in was a move that was unforgivable. Lily would be the first to admit that she hadn't exactly been on her best behaviour, that she'd certainly egged Petunia on, baited her just to get a rise out of her. But she'd made an effort at first, had tried to put on _at the very fucking least_ a polite mask that would let them get through two days without being at each other's throats. They hadn't even lasted two fucking seconds.

Lily sighed, turned in her seat, nuzzled her face into James' neck. His hand cupped her upper arm, pressed her into him, but he didn't say anything. He was, sometimes, so unbelievably patient, that it made her heart burst.

She sat there for a bit, her nose pressed into James' neck, before she said, "I think it was just Petunia."

James hummed quietly, letting her know he'd heard her, but wanted her to keep talking, didn't want to put words in her mouth. She sighed, "I just…."

She took a deep breath, felt the words on the tip of her tongue now and she pulled away from James so she could look at him, let her feet fall onto the floor, "I don't understand why it has to be like this. I don't even know what we're fighting about anymore, I don't know what she fucking wants from me or what I did or why she hates me. I don't know why she's so fucking miserable every time it looks like I'm even remotely happy, like my fucking happiness means that there's less happiness in the world for her or some bullshit, like I'm taking something from her?"

The words were pouring out of her, the volume of her voice rising, though she did her best to stay moderately quiet to avoid disturbing the other people in their car (there were only a few of them, but still). But the more she'd spoken, the angrier she'd become, the more the fucking injustice of it all hit her in the face. She hadn't done anything wrong, not in choosing St Andrews, not in calling Vernon out on the fact that he's a complete fucking bawbag, not on whatever the hell it was that she apparently did that made it impossible for Petunia to be her sister. Lily wasn't wrong, she _wasn't,_ and that's what pissed her off the most. Almost.

"And," Lily hissed, sitting up a little straighter, the anger screaming through her veins now and making it difficult for her to keep her voice quiet, "my fucking mother just _lets_ her treat me like that. Lets her treat _you_ like that. My mother just sits there, takes her side every god damned time like it's alright for Petunia to act like that and I know she just does it because Dad so _clearly_ agrees with me and she wants it to be 'fair' or whatever, doesn't want Petunia to feel like we're all ganging up on her, but maybe don't act like a fucking wankstain and people won't treat you that way! And how is it fair in the first fucking place? Petunia acts like a complete arsebadgering twat _and_ gets Mum on her side? What in the actual _fuck_ is that?!"

James took his arm around around her shoulders, took her hand instead, ran his thumb along her knuckles. She hadn't realised her hands were shaking.

"I just. I should be over this," Lily said, brushing her hair back from her eyes with her free hand, "It's been over a fucking decade now, I should be over this. But I just wanted to have one fucking holiday where we could at least _act_ civilly towards each other. I know that she's never going to forgive me for whatever it is I did, but I'm so _fucking tired_ of fighting. I'm tired of having to hear mum bring her up casually whenever we talk and feeling like there's a bit of an accusation there, I'm tired of going home for holidays or whatever and having Petunia ice me out the entire fucking time, I'm tired of walking on _bloody fucking eggshells_ because god fucking knows what's going to set her off! I'm tired and I'm livid because this was supposed to be a nice holiday, time with my parents, a nice trip back home, _but of fucking course_ she had to be there and _of fucking course_ she had to ruin it."

Lily was talking a bit more loudly than she wanted to be now, and she looked around the compartment nervously. Most everyone, it seemed, had headphones or something in, but the man across the aisle from them was looking over at her periodically, shooting them looks. James just squeezed her hand, "He can bugger off."

Lily forced out another deep breath, tried to push all of _this_ out of her. It only made her feel moderately better, but it was a start. "I'm just done," she said, turning in her seat, picking her legs up and draping them across James' lap, "I… I actually fucking hate her. And she's my sister, it's wrong, whatever, but with the way she treats me?! What the fuck kind of person treats their sister that way?"

James moved his other hand to her knee, "You're not obligated to do anything here, you know. You don't have to talk to her, you don't have to be around your family when you know she's going to be around, you don't have to even acknowledge her if she ends up somewhere that you are. _You_ have to come first sometimes, and this," he ran his hand along her leg, "you don't have to feel like this, Lily."

Lily sighed, "But she's still my fucking sister - "

"That's just blood," James said, shaking his head, "you're born into a family completely by fucking chance, you don't choose those people. The people you choose, the people that _you_ bring into your life? Sometimes, they're your family."

He wasn't saying it, but Lily knew that he was thinking of Sirius, of the family Sirius had escaped, of the one they'd built together. James studied her for a moment before continuing, "You've been calling Marlene your sister since you were, what? Sixteen? _She's_ your sister, more than Petunia has ever been. She loves and supports you, she would fight literally anyone for you, she's not afraid to call you out when you're acting like a dick."

Lily chuckled, reached up and brushed away the tears that had formed in the corners of her eyes. James squeezed her hand, "She _loves_ you and I know you feel that way about her, too. You two are sisters, who gives a fuck about whether or not you're actually related? And you know," James looked at her seriously then, threaded his fingers through hers, "you have us, too. Sirius and Remus love you more than anyone else we've ever fucking met and that's… I mean, those two don't trust people easily. Sirius, especially. And you know how I feel about you," he beamed at her then, and Lily couldn't help the laugh that burst out of her, bubbling a bit among the stream of tears she was now wiping from her cheeks.

James' smile softened, "We're your family, too, Evans."

She still had a headache, was still upset, was still fucking livid, but James was right and she knew it. It would take time for her to get there, for her to be at the place where she could actually let this go, where it wouldn't bother her when her mother brought Petunia up on the phone, where she would actually be able to be around Petunia and feel _nothing._ It was going to take a while, but these things never happened overnight.

She reached over, wove her fingers into the hair at the base of his neck, pulled his mouth to hers, "Thank you."

* * *

They got to York at quarter til seven and Lily bought them another round of tea while they waited in the station. James had laughed, reminded her that they were riding First on the EC back to London and that she would get more tea on the train, but Lily had shot him a glare so murderous that he'd fallen silent (though the smile on his lips betrayed his amusement).

They ate breakfast, laughed, chatted about nothing for a majority of the ride south. James tried to convince her to let him take pictures of her when the sun started to rise as they pulled into of Peterborough, and though he had eventually relented, Lily was positive she saw him work his mobile out and snap a few pictures of her as the sun blazed into the sky, the River Nene behind them as they picked up speed after leaving the station.

They pulled into King's Cross just gone nine and Lily was immediately swept back up into the energy of the place. She'd missed it, apparently, this London energy. The air around them was buzzing with conversation and there were people _everywhere._ The station was so densely packed that she knew it was going to be difficult to navigate to the opposite side of the station, but Lily hitched her bag over her shoulder, grabbed James by the hand, and dragged him to the Underground lines, smiling stupidly the entire time. James laughed when he noticed her expression, "People are going to think you've never been to London before. Londoners never look this happy to be on the Underground."

Lily swiped her Oyster at the turnstile, began pulling James towards the escalator to the Victoria line, "What can I say? I'm just happy to be home."

They rode the Victoria line to Vauxhall, hopped onto a South West train, switched to another at Surbiton. "You know," Lily said, chugging her fourth tea of the morning and looking much more harried than she had when they'd gotten off the train in King's Cross, "it's a good thing I woke up on the EC. This would have been a bloody nightmare otherwise."

James laughed, "Yeah, it never seems this annoying when I'm just visiting from Stratford. Though, I usually just go with Sirius and he always insists on the bloody bike."

Lily snorted, "Imagining you with that helmet on, holding onto Sirius for dear life is just - " she started laughing uncontrollably then and James just pushed her head, "Shut up, Evans."

When they got off the train in Weybridge, the first thing that Lily noticed, strangely enough, was the absolutely inordinate amount of trees. "Is this a posh people thing," Lily asked, laughing as they walked out to the front of the station, "Just building a whole bloody forest around your rail lines so you don't have to see or hear them?"

James just rolled his eyes, "I've never actually noticed until you pointed it out, so I have no idea."

They saw Remus just down the way from the station entrance, standing beside a black car. Lily waved before she turned to James, "Wow, no driver? I'm disappointed, Potter."

James snorted, bumped his hip against hers as they reached Remus. James pulled Remus into a hug, "Alright, mate?" Remus clapped James on the back, hugged Lily while James deposited his bag in the boot. Remus took Lily's bag from her arm and put it besides James', ignoring Lily's protests with a roll of his eyes. Remus walked back around to the driver's side, and Lily walked up, climbed into the front passenger seat. "Oh," James said, laughing as he opened the back door, "I'm sitting in the back, eh?"

Lily turned around, smiled at James, "You sat in the front with my dad. It's my turn."

Remus told them that Sirius had been up since six that morning, that he and Euphemia had been shopping for a few hours already, but that he'd left them on the high street to come get James and Lily from the train station. James must have told him that Lily had had a tough go of it up at her parent's place, so Remus didn't prod Lily too much about their time north, instead regaling them with tales of Sirius' Christmas exploits.

"This bastard," Remus said, his left arm shaking so much with laughter that it looked like he was having trouble shifting gears, "was allowed to light the Christmas pudding this year."

James groaned from the back seat, "What?! Why did Mum let him do that?"

Remus looked at James in the mirror, shook his head, "Euphemia said she 'thought he'd finally earned it' and 'come on, Remus, he's been on his best behaviour all day'."

Lily was practically convulsing with laughter, "So what happened?"

Remus looked at her briefly before turning his eyes back to the road, shifting gears again, "This fuckwit poured the rest of a bottle of brandy all over it and set it on fire. We had to get the fire extinguisher out. I told him he was lucky that he didn't get burned because I wasn't about to waste my medical training on his stupid arse."

Lily snorted, "He's so lucky you love him."

Remus glanced at her briefly, his eyes shining with amusement, "He really, really is."

A few minutes later, Remus turned onto a gravel drive hidden from view by a row of immaculately trimmed hedges and bookended by a pair of tall, ivy-covered brick posts. Lily had known that Weybridge was really, really posh, had confirmed this when she'd looked at the houses outside the windows as they drove by, but when Lily saw the house they were now parking in front of, she thought she was going to have a stroke. She whirled round in her seat to gape at James, " _This_ is your mum's house?!"

The house was a huge, brick two-story that Lily was fairly sure was Georgian, though she had literally no knowledge of architecture. Regardless, she knew that whatever style it was, this house was absurdly old, unless it was built sometime in the last century to look that way (though, she doubted that). There were trees all along the perimeter of the property, gardens around the edges of the house that must be _beautiful_ in the spring and summer, and everything, even in the dead of winter, was so meticulously maintained that Lily felt more like she'd pulled up onto some kind of movie set than to her boyfriend's mother's house.

James just shrugged, said, "Yeah," and climbed out of the car, opening the liftgate and grabbing their bags out of the boot. Remus cut the ignition, turned to Lily, "I know what you're thinking because I thought the same thing the first time I came here. Euphemia is really, really nice and, I mean, you know James. They're not the grammar school arseholes you'd expect them to be, living like this. I swear." Remus smiled at her, but Lily's stomach was still flaring nervously.

Lily swallowed, nodded silently, and climbed out of the car.

James met her round the side of the car, took her hand. "You alright," he asked. Lily saw his arm twitch impulsively and she knew that he would have run his hand through his hair if his other hand hadn't been busy holding their bags. Lily let out a shaky laugh, "Yeah, just a bit overwhelmed is all. I knew you were rich but _bloody hell,_ it's different seeing the evidence, you know?"

"Well, we're not posh tosspots, I swear," James said, smiling reassuringly down at her, "And Mum already loves you. Don't let the house scare you off."

James opened the front door and Lily did her best not to keel over right there in the entry way (because of course they had a fucking entry way) - the house was, oddly, just how she'd imagined James' childhood house to be. It was warm and full of sunlight, gorgeously decorated but felt like it was lived in, the colours were warm and neutral with bright, rich splashes of colour throughout. It felt like exactly the kind of house that a man like James would have come from, one that was warm, welcoming, so obviously full of love. James squeezed her hand and led them up the dark wooden staircase immediately beside the entry, turned left at the top of the stairs and into the bedroom on the left. James cleared his throat, "This is my room."

Going into James' room, much like her own, felt like stepping into a time machine and going back fifteen years. There were football posters all over the walls, half empty bookshelves in the corner, a desk still cluttered with paper that James probably hadn't looked at or needed in at least a decade. His walls, like the ones downstairs, were a crisp white, made even brighter by the sunlight streaming in from the large windows on the far wall, but everything else in the room screamed James (or, what she imagined would have screamed James the last time that he'd called this place home). The bed, which she noted with great excitement was a double, was made with royal blue sheets and a matching duvet, a Chelsea blanket thrown across the end. Lily looked over at James and laughed, walked over and sat down on the edge of his bed, "So, you like Chelsea?"

James groaned, set their bags down on the floor near the chest of drawers beside his door, crossed the room towards her, "You could say I had a bit of an obsession."

Lily laughed brightly as James came to a stop in front of her, put his hands on her hips. She gestured around the room, looked pointedly at the many, many Chelsea players lining his walls, "A bit?"

James just leaned over her, put his forehead against hers, and Lily felt her heartbeat accelerate. "Hey," he said, and his voice was quieter now, made the air around them feel tense with anticipation, "I didn't make fun of your S Club posters, you can't make fun of my Chelsea ones."

Lily pulled in a shallow breath, "Fair eno - ," but James' mouth was on hers before she was able to get the whole word out. His hands were underneath her jacket in what seemed like record time, he was running his fingers along the hem of her jumper in that annoyingly tantalising way that he does when he's trying to wind her up, trying to get her to spur things on, to get her to take control. Lily grabbed James by the collar of his jumper, scooted back a bit on the bed, and James climbed up onto the mattress, his knees on either side of her hips. She threaded her fingers into his hair, leaned back onto the bed, groaned against his lips when James settled a bit more of his weight on top of her. He shifted against her and she groaned again, and James smiled against her lips in that annoying (but also annoyingly sexy) way that he did when he knew that he was turning her on.

James pressed his hips against hers and Lily arched her hips up into his, smiling when he moaned into her mouth. She had just moved one of her hands from his hair and was working it underneath his jumper, when, "Oi! Get down here, you prats, we have to go meet Euphemia and Sirius!"

James groaned, pressed his forehead against hers, "I'm going to fucking kill Remus." Lily laughed, pushed her hands against James' chest so that he rolled off of her before hopping out of bed, "No you won't."

James lifted his head from the mattress and glared at her, "I might."

She laughed, grabbed his hand, pulled him to his feet, "But you won't."

They got back in the car, largely ignored Remus' not so subtle jokes about what they may or may not have been doing upstairs, and drove over to the shops on the high street to meet Sirius and James' mum. They parked at the carpark at the bottom of the street and Remus checked his mobile as they got out - "Okay," Remus said, "Sirius said that he finally convinced Euphemia to leave WH Smith, and that they're going to pop into the Caffe Nero across the street, so we can meet them there."

They walked through the carpark towards the library because James and Remus insisted that they 'knew a shortcut.' They walked around the side of the library and Remus slid open the metal gate that separated the carpark from the high street. Lily raised an eyebrow, "Are we supposed to be going this way?"

Remus shrugged, "We've never gotten in trouble before."

Lily sighed but walked through the gate, James on her heels, "That doesn't mean you're allowed to be doing it."

James slung his arm over her shoulder, boyish grin on his face, "Who is going to stop a good looking group like us, Evans?"

Lily just shook her head, "Dear god."

They began making their way up the high street and Lily couldn't stop shrieking as she took in all the storefronts, "This is _easily,_ " she said, gesturing a bit wildly, "the _poshest_ high street I've ever been on."

The walked past a Laura Ashley, more fancy tea and pastry shops than Lily had ever seen in one place in her life, at least half a dozen nice looking restaurants - there were trees lining the walk, garden boxes on every corner, and though Lily was sure the place was full of colour in the spring, she thought it was fairly beautiful now, too. There were wreaths hanging on the lampposts, there was a bloody Christmas tree on the corner near the NatWest, and there were strings of lights hung across the road - they were off now, but Lily was sure that the whole scene made a gorgeous sight at night.

Lily was noticeably nervous as they approached the cafe, and James must have noticed because he took her hand, planted a quick kiss to the side of her head. She knew she didn't have much to be nervous about - she had talked to James' mum on the phone at least half a dozen times before - but there was something different about meeting her in person for the first time. She worried about not living up to expectations, about looking like the poor Northern girl she felt like she was, like she'd just stumbled into one of the richest places in the U.K. completely by accident. She knew it was nonsense, knew it was her mother's old concerns getting into her stupid head, knew none of it really mattered - and even if it did, neither she nor James cared, and isn't that all that matters in the end? Remus grabbed the door to the cafe, James squeezed her hand, and Lily did her best to channel her inner Sirius - _I'm bloody amazing, Euphemia is going to love me because, ha!, how could she not?!_ She felt like the world's biggest prat for even thinking it, but it helped steady her nerves a bit.

Lily's eyes instantly found Sirius over the crowd, a tall, laughing beacon in the packed cafe. Sirius was standing near the till on the opposite side of the shop, but Sirius must have been watching the door because he raised his hand in greeting and Lily saw the person standing in front of him whip round. Lily couldn't see more than the top of her head over the rest of the crowd (she was more than a head shorter than Sirius and looked closer to Lily's height if anything), but she knew it had to be Euphemia. Remus reached over, patted Lily on the back, "Ready, Lil?"

Lily nodded, "Of course!" James squeezed her hand, beamed at her, and began moving them through the crowd.

As soon as they were within earshot, Sirius started screaming. "Love of my life! Brother! Red!" He pulled them into back-breaking hugs in turn, dipped Lily so dramatically her hair was nearly brushing the floor. She shrieked, "Oi! Black!"

Sirius pulled her up and Lily smacked his chest, "Git!" But Sirius just grinned and winked at her, _bastard_. She rolled her eyes and looked away from Sirius, saw a short, grey haired woman hugging Remus before she pulled back and adjusted the collar of his jumper. Remus laughed, flushed a brilliant pink high on his cheeks, leaned down and whispered something into the woman's ear that set her laughing. Her laugh was surprisingly loud - it was bright, full, and unabashed in a way that reminded Lily forcefully of James. Her hair, too, was absolutely mad, a wild grey mass that, despite looking completely chaotic, also somehow managed to look… intentionally so? The woman turned and the moment her deep brown eyes found Lily, her smile widened.

"Lily," she said, and her voice was softer than Lily would have expected, but sure and smooth, and Lily nodded, extended a hand. Euphemia laughed again, a bit quieter this time, and pulled Lily into a hug. Lily's eyes found James over his mum's shoulder - he was standing there, one hand in his hair, smiling like a complete loon, and the happiness on his face was enough to make her heart melt.

Euphemia pulled back, rested her hands in the crooks of Lily's arms, smiled up at her. She was a few centimetres shorter than Lily and Lily resisted the urge, just barely, to celebrate the fact that someone, _finally,_ was shorter than she was. "I'm sure you figured this out already, but I'm Euphemia. I'm so, so glad to meet you, Lily."

Lily smiled warmly back at her, felt whatever remaining nerves she had dissolve. There was something about Euphemia that put you immediately at ease, that made you feel comfortable, at home. _Yet another thing she shares with her son._ "I'm so glad to meet you as well. Though I feel like I already know you after we've talked on the phone!"

James had ordered tea for everyone, so they fought through the crowd to find a table big enough to seat all of them. They managed to find a table in the far corner in the back of the cafe and the stripped their coats off before they sat down and began distributing mugs.

"So," Euphemia said, smiling over at Lily, "James tells me that you just finished your PhD? Sirius says that it's in, what was it Sirius," she looked towards Sirius, a mischievous glint in her eye, "'some political bollocks or another,' though, I highly doubt that's correct."

Lily laughed and Sirius just shrugged, "How am I supposed to remember the name of the whole bloody degree programme?"

Remus rolled his eyes, "It was the same with me, too, Lils. And 'paediatric surgery' isn't even that difficult to remember." Sirius elbowed Remus in the ribs, "I remembered that, you git, I'm not a moron."

Remus grinned at Lily, "Could have fooled me," shot her a wink.

Lily laughed and turned back to Euphemia, "My PhD is in international relations. I studied at the University of Kent, out of their Global Europe Centre in Brussels." Euphemia beamed, "James mentioned you lived in Brussels for a while! How did you like it? I've always loved it when Fleamont and I visited."

Lily poured some milk into her tea, "I absolutely adore Brussels. I was living there for about four years, but when we had that vote in June, I moved back to get a sense of how this discussion was shaping up at home. I could have done it from the continent, of course, but I wanted to be in the thick of it."

Euphemia nodded, "I think that makes a lot of sense. And moving back meant that you got to meet Jamesie, so good all around, I'd say."

James flushed a deep red, his mum patted his arm, and Sirius and Remus burst into laughter. Euphemia rolled her eyes, "These boys are still such children sometimes. They're lucky we love them."

Lily laughed, reached over and took James' hand, "They really, really are."

* * *

They wandered around the high street for a few hours before Euphemia finally decided that it was time to go home so that she could start getting dinner ready. Sirius tried to convince them that they needed to go into another bloody hair shop because they 'were sold out of my hair oil at all of the others,' but Euphemia had, thankfully, put her foot down. "Knowing you," Euphemia said, putting her hand on Sirius' elbow and dragging him away from Hair UK, "you have a half of a dozen bottles of the stuff at home in your vanity. Surely you can wait to buy more."

Sirius tipped his head back dramatically, "But _MUM,_ it's Boxing Day sales!"

Euphemia just laughed, tugged harder on his elbow to pull him down the walk towards where they'd parked the car, "I know, love, but I promise you'll be alright."

When they got home, Euphemia shooed the boys out of the house, put the kettle on, and asked Lily if she'd like to sit with her in the kitchen while she pulled dinner together. Lily offered to help, but Euphemia had smiled, waved her off, "It's no big deal, love, I got it. Just chat with me. It's rare that I get to talk to anyone other than those three these days." She tipped her head towards the garden door and Lily watched Remus, Sirius, and James running around like kids, kicking the football between them and tackling each other into the hedges. Lily laughed, "I know the feeling."

They chatted about Lily's time in graduate school, about uni, what she thought about the way the elections had shaken out earlier that year, about growing up in the North. Euphemia told Lily that she was originally from Wales, that she's met James' father when she went to Oxford - "We both went to Magdalen College, just like James," Euphemia said, smiling, "I was in the first class of women they accepted into the college back in '79."

"What?!" Lily had finally convinced Euphemia to let her peel some sprouts, and she set her knife down in surprise. "Yes," Euphemia said, chuckling, "they didn't let women in until 1979. But my dad had gone to Magdalen College and I knew I was smart enough to get in. When they announced they were opening up applications to women…" she trailed off, smiled at Lily, "I'm pretty sure I was the first woman to hand them back an application. I was eager."

Lily grinned, picked up her sprout knife and resumed peeling, "That's really impressive. I see where James' gets his... " she gestured vaguely with the knife and Euphemia laughed, "James is smart as a whip, really into the sciences just like his father was. But, you're right, I think he gets his general air from me. Fleamont always said so, anyway."

Euphemia told her more about Fleamont, how they'd met, gotten married straight out of uni, travelled the continent for a bit before they'd settled in this house in Weybridge, before they'd had James. "It was a bit unconventional for the time, I guess," she said, "but we didn't care. We wanted to feel like we'd gotten a lot of that stuff under our belts before we started raising kids. Hell," Euphemia laughed, "we were still kids ourselves."

A few hours later, Euphemia called the boys in for dinner, and ordered them all to go change. "You're bloody messes, the lot of you!" she said, swatting James' shoulder with an oven mitt, "You knew we were having dinner and you were still out there diving in hedges like a bunch of fools."

James planted a kiss on the side of Lily's head, beamed at his mum, "Aw, come on, we were having fun, Mum." Euphemia rolled her eyes, "Don't 'aw, come on, mum,' me," but she softened visibly and Lily knew that James knew it. He shot Lily a wink before disappearing upstairs with Remus and Sirius, and Euphemia sighed, shook her head at Lily - "Is he still always like this?"

Lily laughed, "Literally always."

Though they were having Boxing Day dinner, Euphemia had gotten out an entire box of Christmas crackers and had them out on the table for them to crack after they finished eating. They cracked all the crackers as soon as they were done, laughed until they cried over the absolutely horrid jokes, forced a paper crown onto Sirius' head and snapped a picture before he could remove it. Lily was sure James had mentioned Lily's less-than-stellar Christmas with her family and was grateful that Euphemia was making a subtle effort to improve Lily's holiday. It was a small thing, but she already felt happier and more welcome here than she had at any point back home in Middlesbrough. It was a thought that stuck with her, but she did her best to bury it for a while - it was surprisingly easy to do, Lily realised, when you're in good company.

James put the kettle on after dinner while Remus got out dessert, and they sat around, sipped tea, and exchanged the gifts Lily and James had asked Sirius and Remus to bring when they'd come down a few days before. Lily laughed as James brought the parcels in from the sitting room, "I'm surprised Sirius didn't open them yesterday!" Euphemia sighed, "Believe me, love, we had a time of it, but we managed."

Remus had, as James predicted, nearly passed out with excitement over the chocolate and jumper Lily had gotten for him, Sirius almost burst her eardrum thanking her for the bottle of liquor and patches she'd gotten for his beloved leather jacket (the "fuck off" patch was even a hit with Euphemia, which Lily was glad of because it could have easily gone the other way entirely). Lily hadn't been sure what to get Euphemia and she was nervous, insanely nervous, watching her open the box. James had assured her that Lily's gift was perfect, that his mum would love it, but still. James, though, had been right, and Euphemia had gasped, pulled Lily into a hug, "How did you know I love Nigella?!"

Lily laughed, "I just crossed my fingers. Though, Nigella is brilliant, so it was a pretty safe bet."

Lily hadn't been expecting anything in return, and was surprised and overwhelmed when Euphemia handed her a pair of boxes, "James said you're applying for jobs in the Foreign Office and I'm hoping this will help make your transition a bit easier. I convinced Sirius and Remus to come along with me on this, so this isn't all just from me."

Lily shot the two of them a look, but Sirius was resolutely avoiding her gaze and Remus was just looking steadily back at her, smiling evenly. Remus had always had the better poker face and the fact that Sirius felt he needed to look away to keep from giving something away made Lily nervous. Sure enough, she was completely speechless when she opened the two boxes.

"Euphemia," Lily lifted the first dress out of the box, a dark, emerald green one that perfectly complimented her eyes, "Euphemia this… this is too much."

Euphemia shook her head, "Nonsense. You'll need some things for work and I wanted you to have something really nice. And James, bless him, was absolutely horrible at getting your measurements, so we went with dresses because they're a bit safer. Easier to tailor, at any rate."

Lily opened the box underneath, the one from Sirius and Remus, and her jaw nearly hit the floor. "You guys," Lily said, running her hand along the smooth black fabric of the second dress, "this had to be so - " Sirius held up his hand, smile playing on his lips, "Save it, Red. We wanted you to have them."

Lily pulled all three of them into hugs in turn, telling that it was "really, really too much" and "thank you, thank you, thank you so much."

After they'd finished clearing up from dinner and gotten rid of all the wrapping paper, Euphemia had told Lily to "go relax, love, you've had a day!" so Lily grabbed her coat from the cupboard in the front hall and wandered out into the back garden. There was a group of wooden benches, Lily noted with a smile, over by the flower beds in the far corner, so she trekked across the frost-covered grass and sat down on the closest one. The benches were set on a patch of gravel and there was a small fire pit in the centre - Lily laughed thinking about all the nights James, Remus, and Sirius must have spent out here, about how many times they must have convinced Sirius to stop doing something that, in some way, related to the fire in the middle. She was sitting there inventing increasingly wild scenarios in her head when she heard the sound of frost crunching under shoes and a weight settled onto the bench beside her.

Lily turned her head a bit before she turned her gaze back to the garden, "Where's Remus?"

"Shower."

Lily hummed, "Where's James?"

Sirius laughed, "Cleaning. Stupid git knows the rules about hanging around in the kitchen after dinner, but he gets caught every time. I'm starting to think he likes cleaning."

Lily looked over at him, eyebrow raised, "What are the rules?"

Sirius stuffed half a mince pie into his mouth and Lily noticed he had a full plate of them in his hand. She shot him a look and Sirius sighed, handed her one. "The rules," he said through a mouthful of filling, "well, it's one rule really. If you're still in the kitchen after you're done clearing your part of the table, you get more chores. Remus and I learned really early to get the fuck out of there, but fucking James," Sirius stuffed the other half of pie into his mouth, "he gets caught every time because he just can't stop eating."

Lily snorted, covered her mouth to keep from spraying raisins everywhere, "Sounds like James."

They sat there quietly for a few minutes eating pies, staring out at the sky. It was quiet here, really, really quiet. It was weird, being as close to London as they were, but she could see more stars in the sky than she ever had outside of Scotland, could hear the water in the river just across the way. Sirius seemed more than content to sit there, to let her think, and she was grateful that he seemed to understand that while she needed time to herself, time to get into her own head, that she didn't necessarily want to do that alone.

"Prongs mentioned your family was a bunch of twats," Sirius said suddenly and Lily snorted, "My mum and sister, yeah. Dad's fine. Dad's always fine."

She waited for Sirius to make a 'Daddy' joke, but he stayed quiet. Just hummed quietly, stuffed another bit of pie into his mouth.

"He didn't tell us details," Sirius said, turning a bit on the bench, "just so you know. Just wanted us to know you'd had a rough time so we didn't prod you too much."

Lily shrugged, "I wouldn't have minded if he had."

"You'd be surprised," Sirius said, and his voice sounded, for once, earnest. That alone almost made Lily turn to face him, to ask him what he was on about, but she stayed silent, wanted to see where Sirius was planning on taking them. She had a hunch, but she wanted to see if she was right.

"I know that it's easy to say this," Sirius continued, and Lily saw him looking at her out of the corner of her eye - he was turned all the way on the bench now, one of his legs crossed over the other, "but fuck them, Lily."

Lily turned to face him now and Sirius was staring at her intently, studying her with an interest that she'd never seen on his face before. Sirius was great, she knew, at reading people, but he almost never let it be known when he was up to it, preferring to maintain a mask of general indifference. It was his attention, his focus, more than anything that brought angry tears to her eyes. She swiped at them with a huff, tried to laugh, "You're right, that is easy to say."

Sirius sighed, "Believe me, Red, I know. But I also know that you never get… not better, but you know… you never get there if you keep caring. Petunia is always going to be a colossal cunt, there's literally nothing you can do about that. Your mum," Sirius scoffed, brushed his hair back from his eyes, "your mum will probably always feel the need to bridge the gap between the two of you, that will _always_ feel like she's taking Petunia's side. She will always, _always_ bring her up, will always forget about you and your bloody feelings in an effort to fix something that can't be fixed."

Lily wiped away a few more tears, opened her mouth, closed it again. Sirius watched her quietly for a few moments, waiting to see if she would reply, but when she didn't, he continued. "It's easier to say than it is to do… but you have to accept that this is what you need to do before you can start to do anything else. You have to accept that you don't give a fuck, that you _can't_ give a fuck because giving a fuck only makes it worse. This kind of shit never changes, look at my parents - "

"This isn't nearly as bad," Lily said, the words falling out of her before she could stop them. Sirius just laughed bitterly, "Yeah, my parents were about as bad as they come."

Sirius looked up at the wind blowing through the tree branches above them, was quiet for a few moments before he turned back to Lily, a sombre look on his face, "Just because they don't hit you, Red, doesn't mean that what they're doing is alright."

It felt like she'd been punched in the gut, like all the air had rushed out of her stomach and she couldn't breathe, like her heart was going to burst right in her fucking chest. She drew in a shaky breath, determined not to fall apart about fucking Petunia, _not twice in one mother fucking day bloody hell,_ but when Sirius reached over and took her hand (awkwardly, like he wasn't sure what he was doing, but also firmly, like he knew she needed it to stay grounded) she broke. She turned on the bench, pressed her face into Sirius' chest and just _sobbed,_ and it was ugly and embarrassing and she was sure that Sirius was dying ( _she_ was dying) but he stayed - just moved his other arm around her back, patted her shoulders, told her that he understood. And she was glad, so fucking glad, that he didn't say that it was okay.

She wasn't sure how long she cried, but he'd just let her tears run their course - didn't hurry her along, push her away, didn't bloody move. When she sat up a while later, wiped away the few remaining tears streaming down her cheeks, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath. She opened her eyes and smiled softly at Sirius, trying to communicate everything she was feeling without knowing how to actually say the words, how to make her face look so that he knew what she wanted him to know. She just smiled, squeezed the hand that was still in hers, "Thank you."

Sirius nodded, squeezed her hand in return before Lily let it go and he put his hand back in his lap, "I - " he closed his mouth, thought for a moment, "I'm always here if you need to talk, Lily. I know that James and Remus and Marlene will… will always talk with you about this, will always fucking support you, but…" he was quiet again, let his gaze drop down to his knees, and Lily sat patiently, letting him find the right words.

"They don't get _this_ ," Sirius said at last, looking back up at her and gesturing between the two of them, "they don't get what it's like to have your own fucking family making you feel like utter shit." He laughed awkwardly, bitterly, and Lily reached out, took his hand again without thinking. Sirius' hand twitched a bit in hers, but he didn't pull away.

"I mean, your experience is a bit different from mine," Sirius smiled wryly, Lily squeezed his hand, "you've never had an all-consuming fear of a belt, for instance, or had to learn to cover up a last minute black eye before trotting off to school." Sirius' hand was trembling in hers, but he maintained his smooth features, that sarcastic smile, and Lily became acutely aware, for the first time, how much all of _this_ was a mask - she'd always known that a lot of it was an act, or a persona or something, but it was rapidly becoming clear to her _why_ it was that way and just how deeply it all ran. It was more than he'd ever said about his childhood, more than he'd ever shared with her, and she wasn't quite sure what to say.

"Sirius, I - "

Sirius just shook his head, smiled a bit more genuinely at her, "It's fine, Red. James and Remus made me start going to therapy a few years ago, back when I was really, really bad. I don't go as often as I used to, but I still go… and it helps. I know what you want to say, though, so… thanks." He squeezed her hand before letting it drop, "Anyway, before we get all… dark and depressed… what I want to say is that I get where you're at. I know what it feels like to hate your family, or some of them at least, and if you ever want to talk, I'm here for you. I don't care what time of the day or night, you just let me know."

Lily nodded, 'Thanks, Sirius."

He smiled at her, "Anything for you, Red."

They sat in comfortable silence for a few moments, before Sirius stretched his arms over his head, stood up, "You ready?" Lily looked up at him and nodded, "Yeah."

She got to her feet and Sirius stuffed one hand in his coat pocket, grabbed the mince pie plate with the other, turned on his heel and began walking with her towards the house.

"I'm here for you, too," Lily said, looking at him briefly before turning back to look at the house, "I know I don't know the whole back story and I don't expect you to tell me or anything," she could feel Sirius watching her out of the corner of her eye, so she turned, smiled briefly at him, "but I'm here for you, too, you know. Day or night."

Sirius smiled easily, a genuine, buoyant smile that warmed Lily's heart. He pulled his hand out of his coat pocket and dropped an arm over her shoulder, "Thanks, Red."

* * *

They stayed in Weybridge for a few days, finally leaving to head back to London just before the New Year. Euphemia dropped all four of them off at Weybridge Station, and made them all, Lily included, swear to call her soon.

They boarded the 11:30 South West to Waterloo, transferred twice on the tube, once at Waterloo, where they said goodbye to Remus and Sirius, and again at Bank. Nearly an hour and a half after they left Weybridge, James and Lily stumbled through the door of his flat. Lily dumped her bags onto the floor in his room, "I'll put the kettle on, yeah?" James nodded, dropped his bags on the floor and followed her into the kitchen. James stood, his back against the counter while Lily fiddled with the kettle, watching as she moved to fill it with water, got mugs from the cupboard and plunked tea bags in.

Lily smirked at him, "What?"

James just grinned, crossed the kitchen, and put his hands on her hips, "Pretty soon, this is going to be everyday." Lily beamed, "I can't fucking wait."


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey friends, I'm back. Have another chapter (and some smut - you can have that too). xx**

* * *

After the New Year, everything started, miraculously, to fall into place. It almost seemed too good to be true, but Lily figured if she didn't acknowledge it, then nothing horrible would happen to compensate for all her ridiculous good fortune.

She ended up, after a completely nerve-wracking interview with Minerva McGonagall, getting that job in the Foreign Office. She'd worn her emerald green dress with a smart blazer and had, after calling everyone else, called Euphemia to thank her, again, for such a gorgeous gift. Euphemia had just laughed into the phone, said, "Of course you got it, you're brilliant, Lily. I'll be in London next week to see James' new exhibit. I'll take you to lunch to celebrate."

Lily felt a small twinge of guilt for beginning to like Euphemia more than she liked her own mother, but it was a small one and it passed fairly quickly.

Lily started work the week after her interview. She had worked in the FCO years ago and, thus, should have been used to Westminster, but Lily was (embarrassingly) over-the-moon about being back in government after her time away. She'd spent the first week (or so) screaming inside her head about _THERE'S DOWNING STREET OH MY FUCKING GOD_ but eventually, she managed to settle down a bit. It helped, of course, that Minerva ran a tight ship and was soon working Lily into the ground. Lily, nutter that she was, absolutely loved every minute of it.

Her lease on the Leytonstone flat was up in February and, after many, many tear filled nights, Lily and Marlene finally shut the door on the place for good the last week of January. She'd been moving her things bit by bit into James' flat, taking bags full of shit onto the Tube like a weird hoarder, but they'd commissioned a moving lorry for the rest of the things that she wasn't able to move on her own (or through public transport without getting arrested). Lily had freaked out, at first, that she was leaving Marlene without a place to go, that Marlene wouldn't be able to afford a flat on her own, but Marlene had managed to convince the owner of the gallery she worked for to let her the flat overtop the gallery space.

"I'll get to live in _Soho,_ " Marlene said, practically jumping up and down as she told Lily that night when she got home, "and my commute to work will be _literally_ a minute." They'd called the boys, gone down to the local that night to celebrate, and ended up with the lot of them asleep on the floor in their sitting room. It felt like old times, and though Marlene and Lily spent the early hours of the morning passing a bottle of gin between them and crying, Lily couldn't think of a better way to say goodbye to the place.

Living with James, it turned out, was almost an amplified version of what they'd already been doing when Lily was living with Marlene. They were often over at one flat or the other anyway - now, it was just a matter of getting used to going home to a different place after work each night, having more tube lines to choose from when you went to the Underground station, and fighting about different things with the person you were living with. When Lily was living with Marlene, they'd fought about who ate the last of the muesli, about Lily leaving her trainers in the middle of the bloody sitting room, Marlene leaving camera shit, paint tubes, or spare paint brushes and canvases all over the flat. Lily and James argued about the fact that James always, _always,_ left his wet towel hanging over the edge of the bathroom door ("God damn it, Potter, they never dry properly when you leave them hanging like that!"), that Lily had the habit of walking through the door and just dropping all her shit right at her feet, often leaving her coat, purse, and shoes in a pile by the front door that James would, inevitably, trip on ("For fuck's sake, Evans, are you _trying_ to break my neck?!").

They were both learning to coach themselves out of these big, annoying habits, but they still squabbled about little things, like the pile of tea bags Lily always left on the holder in the kitchen, the fact that James never, ever remembered to get the right kind of shampoo when it was his turn to do the shopping no matter how many bloody times she reminded him what fucking brand it is. She hated that he never remembered to put his fucking toothbrush back in the holder, that he always balled his socks up before he threw them into the laundry, that he always left the Weetabix flap just a _little_ bit open so that it always went _fucking stale,_ and there were a million other tiny little things that drove her absolutely, totally, and completely mad, but, on the whole, the things that annoyed her were manageable and she learned to live with them. And, as silly as it was, she _liked_ figuring out these things about living with James.

Lily made the mistake of telling Marlene this one night when Lily had gone over to her new flat. Lily missed spending time with Marlene - she'd known she would, but it had hit her harder than she'd expected - and James had suggested 'an old-fashioned sleepover'. "We used to have them all the time when Remus and Sirius first moved out," James said, and Lily had laughed, told him that they weren't fourteen anymore, but when it came down to it, Lily and Marlene were both very, very excited. Lily turned up immediately after work that Friday with an absurd amount of Chinese takeaway, they cracked open a bottle of wine, lounged on the sofa, and it was maybe ten minutes before they were curled up on the floor, doubled over in laughter.

It hadn't been long before they'd gotten around to discussing their new living arrangements. "It's weird," Lily said, "I just feel like I'm getting to know him even better now that we're living together." She shoveled another huge bite of noodles into her mouth, "You know?"

Marlene snorted, hit Lily in the head with a spare packet of chopsticks, "Jesus christ, Evans, you're so fucking domestic. I think I'm going to throw up."

The saddest part was, Marlene wasn't wrong - Lily had grown to love just hanging around the flat with James, cooking dinner together (or ordering a disturbing amount of takeaway) and watching Netflix until it was time for bed (which was embarrassingly early these days). The longer they lived together, too, they started to figure out better ways of working together. They'd divided up house chores, though they always argued about who had to be the one to fold the laundry, bartered other chores in an attempt to get out of the ones that they didn't like, started to adjust the one another's weird habits. Lily had tried to keep from talking about her newfound domestic bliss (partially because every time she brought up the dishes or something similar, Marlene looked like she wanted to choke her, and partially because Lily wanted to choke _herself_ for thinking this kind of shit was conversation material), but it didn't keep the stupid smile off her face.

On top of the embarrassing domestic benefits, it turned out that moving two stops closer to Zone 2 made Lily's life so much easier in the morning. From Stratford, Lily could take the Jubilee line all the way to Westminster without a single bloody transfer (it was pathetic, the things that made her happy these days). The new, easier commute was a god send, though. The first few weeks in the office, Lily was getting there before 8am and, often, wasn't leaving until well after 8pm. They were long days, but she'd gotten a handle on her position quickly - that first month helped her figure out how she fit in at the office, and, more importantly, what information she could bring home every night and work on from bed. Her dedication had also impressed Minerva, a woman who, Lily realised very quickly, was extremely difficult to impress. Minerva held her cards close to her chest, but Lily knew that if she continued to show this level of dedication (and, if she was feeling particularly 'Sirius Black' about herself, brilliance), she knew it would be a matter of time before she started moving through the ranks, maybe only a few years before she got the foreign appointment she was after.

Once Lily had a better handle on her work, she and James quickly worked out something of a routine. James went into town with Lily on the 8:06 Jubilee train, kissed Lily goodbye at Westminster and transferred to the District line to take him the rest of the way to the museum. In the evening, Lily left the office every night at quarter past five, a huge bag of files in hand, to catch the 5:30 Jubilee back out to Stratford. James timed his transfer from the District line so that, by the time Lily got to Westminster station, he was able to meet her on the platform, two newspapers in hand for them to share on the train home. Sirius had called their routine "so fucking disgusting he could barely stand it," but Lily didn't care, not at all. She loved sitting next to him on the tube, newspapers in hand, his leg pressed up against hers, while they went to and from work each day. It made what would have been a stressful and, frankly, annoying commute easier to manage.

The only sad part about the whole thing was that they never went to their Costa in Earl's Court on the weekdays anymore. Lily missed seeing Frank in the morning, missed hearing about his budding relationship with Alice, missed, even, having Frank sass her and James about their clear affection for one another. James would sometimes leave work early and meet her with a blueberry scone at the Westminster station, but it was rare that Lily was able to actually get away to the cafe herself. They'd meet there occasionally for lunch, and started going on and off on weekends, especially when they were headed into town anyway for Saturday lunch at Marlene's, but it just wasn't the same (something Frank never stopped making them feel guilty about).

Everything, bloody everything, was going so well (Costa aside) that she was too afraid to acknowledge it for fear that it would slip away. She had a job she loved, friends who were better than family, a partner she was head over bloody heels for, and though she still didn't believe in 'fate' or a universe that might have designs, she still didn't want to tempt anything that might be lurking out there by thinking too much about how fucking lucky she was to have all the things she'd ever wanted and then some. This 'not overanalysing' plan, though, soon went completely to shit.

One day in the third week of April, Remus was off of work for a few days in a row, resting up after a 48 hour stint at the hospital that had him dead on his feet and Sirius at either her and James' place or Marlene's for most of the duration. Once Remus had recovered from what Lily considered to be a truly terrifying lack of sleep, he suggested that they all get lunch to catch up ("I feel like I haven't been outside my flat or the operating theatre in weeks, please god get lunch with me."). Sirius, though, actually had work (they were all surprised) and James was in the middle of some springtime animal counting bollocks and couldn't get away ("Evans, for the millionth time, it's not called springtime animal counting bollocks." "Then what is it James?" "It's our annual spring mark-recapture." "Yeah, what I fucking said."). They met up at Princi, a casual Italian place about halfway between Westminster and Marlene's gallery, and got a pair of pizzas to split between them.

"So, how's work going, Lil?" Remus ate half a slice of pizza in one and Lily grinned, "Work's great. I feel like _such_ a nerd, geeking out over foreign policy all day, but I'm definitely living the dream."

Marlene snorted, "You are a nerd, Lils, it's why we love you."

Lily rolled her eyes, took a bite of pizza, "Thanks, McKinnon." She turned towards Remus, "How about you, excited to see the world outside the walls of the hospital?"

Remus groaned, "So excited you wouldn't fucking believe."

They chatted aimlessly for awhile, about work, telly, what they wanted to do for Saturday lunch at Marlene's, before they inevitably came round to James and Lily's relationship. "So," Marlene said, stuffing a final bite of pizza into her mouth and leaning back in her chair, "when are you and Prongs tying the knot?"

Lily gaped at her, cleared her throat, "Uh… I don't know? We haven't talked about it much."

Marlene rolled her eyes, "Come on, you've talked about it." Remus leaned forward a bit in his chair, his eyes moving between Lily and Marlene. Lily couldn't tell if he was just listening, if he was figuring something out, or what he was up to, but either way, he stayed silent.

"Well, alright," Lily said, "a bit. But every time we talk about it he gets all red and sweaty, and he changes the subject after like two minutes."

Remus arched an eyebrow, but still, he said nothing. Marlene snorted, "Evans! Come on!" Remus immediately shifted his gaze towards her, shook his head almost imperceptibly. Lily raised her eyebrows at him, "What?"

Remus shrugged, "Nothing," and Marlene sighed, clearly exasperated, "You're acting like you don't know why he's being like that and you have to fucking know."

Remus shot Marlene a look then, but Marlene just stared right back, "What are you going to do, Lupin?"

Remus sighed, "How in the fuck did I end up with two Sirius Black's in my life?" He was clearly trying to change tack, but Marlene ignored him and turned back to Lily, "Lily, come on. I know you're not this daft."

Remus groaned, held his hands up, sat back in his chair, but he didn't say a single word. Lily looked at him and he just shook his head, "I'm not saying anything."

Marlene snorted, "Nice. Trying to stay out of it, eh?"

Remus grit his teeth, "I'm just trying not to ruin it, McKinnon, _fuck._ "

Lily sighed, irritated, "Ruin - "

She was going to ask 'ruin what?!' but as she sat there, played back the conversation in her head, thought back to all the conversations she and James had had, especially recently, it all started to slot into place in her brain. "Oh," Lily breathed, and Marlene beamed at her, shot a cocky smirk at Remus, but Lily was barely paying attention to either of them anymore.

 _That's_ what her dad was going to ask at Christmas, that's what her dad and James were talking about in Brussels. _No. There's no way he's been thinking about this since Brussels. Has he?_ But the more she thought about it, the more it made sense - she'd thought that he was going to propose on Christmas, so she obviously thought that this was possible. Nevermind the fact that it hadn't ended up working out that way, that had been her first bloody thought and surely she wouldn't have thought that he was going to do that if she didn't have _some_ reason for suspecting that he might have been thinking about doing it.

 _But if he's known since Brussels, what the fuck has he been doing?!_ _I mean, okay, maybe he wanted to make sure we could live together without killing each other first._ That was sound logic and she couldn't fault him for that. Many, many relationships fall apart when they get to this stage, but they'd been living in the flat for a few months now, so… Though, it had only been two and a half months, not _that_ long… and they'd only been dating a year in February, maybe he wasn't planning to ask her for a while yet? _But if he's not planning to ask for a while, what the fuck was he showing Dad in the carpark? He must already have a fucking ring and if he has a ring then…_

Lily spent the rest of the meal turning it over and over in her head, working out new scenarios, coming up with new questions. She didn't talk about it, didn't say a damn word, but she knew the Marlene and Remus knew that she'd figured it out. Marlene seemed sufficiently pleased with herself, though Remus had threatened her with death if Marlene said anything more detailed than what she'd already said. "He's excited," Remus had hissed when he thought Lily wasn't listening, "I know you want her to know because she's your sister, but don't ruin this for them."

Marlene had rolled her eyes but, surprisingly, listened - she didn't bring it up again. The seed had been planted, though, and Lily spent the rest of her day at work mulling it over (and had to do her best to act normal when she met James on the platform in Westminster that evening).

To make matters worse, Lily started noticing the signs everywhere ( _fuck I'm an idiot sometimes_ ). Sirius, especially, was keen to drop hints and did so at every possible opportunity, and she was so irritated with herself for not realising what was going on earlier. He asked James to "be a doll and _ring_ up that takeaway place for me" and said "I don't know, Prongs, I'm not like _wed_ to the idea of curry" whenever they'd all get together to eat, always waggled his eyebrows obnoxiously, shouted the keywords to see just how much he could make James freak out. It had been funny at first, watching James sweat it out and try to combat Sirius' nonsense without drawing too much attention to himself, but by the end of May, Lily thought James might have a stroke if Sirius didn't stop soon. James and Lily were off for the bank holiday, but Marlene had some work to do in the gallery and Remus was still in some god awful surgery he'd started the night before, so they invited Sirius over to have lunch with them (mostly to stop him texting them nonstop about how bloody bored he was).

Sirius was in the house five minutes when the teasing started. He'd been asking Lily about the takeaway place down the road, trying to remember the name of it, "I think it's… fuck, Al-Nasar? Does that _ring_ a bell, Prongsie?"

James fisted his hand in his hair and shot a scathing look at Sirius, "Fuck off, Padfoot."

Sirius grinned wickedly, abandoned all pretense, "I don't know, Prongs, _I can heaaaar the beeeeells_ \- "

James laughed, but it was clearly strained, and Lily saw him shoot her a look to see how much she might be paying attention to what was unfolding, "Sirius, no one gives a fuck about your obscure American musical references."

Sirius gasped, "Hairspray is not _obscure_ , James! IT IS A CLASSIC!"

James fell back onto the sofa, put his head in Lily's lap (her fingers immediately wove into his hair), and groaned, "Who are you and what have you done with Sirius?"

"Oh James," Sirius flicked his hair over his shoulder and grinned impishly, "you act like I don't have a variety of incredible interests to match my amazingly complex personality."

Lily laughed but James rolled his eyes, "I'm still so impressed that you've managed to trick us all into liking you."

Sirius laughed, "Please, I'm brilliant." He tossed a bit of biscuit at James' head.

"Oi!" Lily glared at Sirius, "Don't waste a perfectly good biscuit on this prat!" she turned to James, "I know what he's on about, anyway, you don't need to get all worked up, James."

Sirius started laughing, but James blanched, "W-what do you mean?"

Lily smirked, "I'm not stupid." Well, she was, but she would leave the whole backstory out of this for now. Sirius grumbled "Took you long enough though, fuck," under his breath and Lily held up her fingers at him.

James took a breath, sat up, and Lily's hands fell back into her lap, "I have no idea what you're talking about." His voice went up at the end like he was asking, and she grinned. "Well, when you figure it out, the answer's yes."

She'd been mulling it over (and over and over and over) in her head since Marlene had basically told her a few weeks ago, but she'd known immediately that she would say yes when he asked. There was literally nothing else _to_ say - she'd never felt about anyone the way she felt about James, couldn't imagine feeling this way about anyone else ever again. The idea of marriage used to terrify her (tethering yourself to someone else for the rest of your life, allegedly, with no escape unless you went through a herd of lawyers), but when she thought about it (and she'd thought about it) with James? It didn't scare her at all. If anything, she just felt excited.

James hands started trembling a bit, his cheeks flushed a light rose, "I - I h-haven't asked you anything."

She wanted him to know that she was serious, but that she also didn't need him to ask her right that bloody moment. She wanted him to do it when he was ready, but she needed him to have the confidence to know that everything would be alright. _The fact that I need to give James confidence… I mean, this has to be a fucking first._ Lily reached out, took his hands in hers to still them, "Well, when you do. My answer's yes."

James looked at her for a moment before breaking into a stunning grin, a fire lighting in his eyes as he gripped her hands more tightly in his own, "Yeah?"

Lily grinned, "Yes."

James got that _look_ in his eyes, the one that always made her weak in the goddamn knees, and his voice had the deep, gravelly tone when he said, "Padfoot, get the fuck out." James' eyes burned into hers and she squirmed a bit. She drew the corner of her lip into her mouth and she watched his Adam's apple bob in his throat.

Sirius scoffed from across the room, "Prongs, we're eating lunch - "

"Unless you want to watch us _fuck_ right now, you need to get out." James didn't turn his head to look at Sirius, just stared straight into her eyes, and Lily's breath caught in her throat, her heart started hammering, she could _feel_ herself getting wet just sitting there -

"I don't know, that sounds like it could be interesting to - "

Lily turned her head briefly towards Sirius, took one hand from James' and pointed at the door, "Pads, _now,_ or I will kill you with my bare fucking hands."

Sirius sighed, "Alright, alright, you prats." He pulled himself up out of the chair and grabbed his jacket from the back of the sofa, shooting Lily a wink, "Don't get pregnant, now, Evans," before he finally left the flat.

Her shirt was off the minute Sirius shut the door and though Sirius was cackling (loudly) the entire walk down the stairs, Lily found it fairly easy to ignore him once James' shirt joined hers on the floor. He kissed her as soon as he'd gotten his shirt off, but Lily groaned, pushed her hands against his chest, "Get your fucking trousers off," stood up and slid her jeans down her legs, kicked them over to the far corner along with her knickers. James practically jumped up off the sofa and his pants and trousers were on the floor in record time. He took a step closer to her, threaded one hand into her hair, slid his other along her waist, and leaned down, kissed her. His long fingers were spreading out over her skin, his fingertips pressing into her back, his erection pressing into her stomach, and her heart started hammering madly in her chest in desperation. She'd thought, based on how quickly they'd both gotten out of their clothes, that when his mouth finally found hers it would be hot, feverish, overwhelming. Instead, James was slowing them down, setting a slower, steadier pace, one that always paid off but, right now, was not at all what she wanted, not when she could feel him pressing into her like that, not when she'd basically just accepted a proposal of marriage he hadn't fucking made. No, she was going to fuck him and they were going to do it right. now.

She moved one hand between them and took him in her hand, smiling when James moaned into her mouth. She gave him a few smooth, quick strokes and he groaned again, murmured " _Fuck,"_ against her lips, before he broke away, pressed his forehead to hers. She opened her eyes and arched an eyebrow, slid her hand over him and his eyes fell closed, he moaned again (she definitely got off a bit on the power trip). She moved her hands back up to his chest and pushed him backwards until his calves hit the sofa, pushed him down onto the couch. He huffed as his back hit the cushions, tried for a joke, "Someone's eager."

She climbed on top of him, his hands on her waist, her knees on either side of his hips, wound her fingers into his hair, "Shut up, Potter," and kissed him again. But she _was_ eager and the pace she set was clear enough evidence of that. She swiped her tongue along his bottom lip, ground against him, moved her hands from his hair and over every available bit of skin that she could reach, and it didn't take James long to catch on, to understand that she was having none of his 'let's slow this down' game today.

He moved his hands, one cupped her breast, the other slid between them, and when he pressed his fingers against her, Lily's head dipped back and she swore at the ceiling. He leaned forward and kissed her neck, smiling against her skin as he coaxed moans out of her by swirling his fingers against her clit (" _Fuck,_ James, do that again"), biting down on the side of her neck, rolling her nipple between his fingers. She moved her hand between them and with no other preamble than a breathy, "James, I - " she slid down onto him. They both groaned and James' fingers fumbled against her a bit in surprise before they found purchase again.

She normally would have taken a moment to adjust to having him inside her, to get used to the sensation, but the tension in her stomach was already driving her mad and she was desperate. She moved her hands to his shoulders, used them for leverage, as she slid up the length of him before slamming back down, hard, her hips meeting his and sending shockwaves through her entire body. James moved both his hands to her hips, pressed his fingers hard into her skin, and she let her head fall back a bit as she moved her hips, opting for long, smooth strokes instead of shorter, shallow ones. His fingers pressed harder into her skin as she moved and James, desperate to do something with his mouth, leaned forward and took one of her nipples between his lips, nibbling a bit with his teeth.

"James - " He always loved it when she said it name, especially when she practically panted it out like that, and he bit down on her nipple in appreciation before moving his mouth up her chest, along the column of her neck. Her movements were getting a bit sloppier, she was so fucking close and her legs were exhausted. She moaned out his name again, more frustrated this time, grabbed his hand and moved it between her thighs, and he got the hint - he rolled his fingers over her clit and began meeting her shallower strokes with his hips, the upward motion hitting the most amazing spot. "Fuck, yes, just like that," it was barely more than a breath, but he understood, moved his hips harder in the same fluid motion, swirled his fingers against her and it was only a few minutes before she fell apart.

She could barely hear the sound of James' ragged breathing over her own, but she could tell by the way that his fingers were moving against her, the way his other hand was digging into her hip, that he was close, and she leaned forward, kissed him briefly. He moaned against her lips before he broke the kiss and she knew he was right there. She clenched down onto him and he groaned, "Fuck, Lily, not yet, come on," and the fingers he had pressed against her clit slowed down, changed direction, and she groaned in understanding.

"James, I already - " he leaned forward, took her nipple into his mouth, hummed back some kind of response, but his fingers were already working her back up again. She'd already gotten there once and he knew that it wasn't going to take too much to get her there again. She proved him right in minutes - he pinched her clit between his fingers and she exploded around him again, this orgasm even more intense than the one that had come before, and she let her head fall to his shoulder, eyes closed, mouth on his neck. James moved, once, twice, three times more into her before he pressed his forehead to the side of neck, moved both hands to her hips, and guided her over him while he rode out his own orgasm.

After a few moments, James handed her his t-shirt from the floor with the dumbest smirk she'd ever seen on his face. She snorted, smacked his chest, and, though she couldn't quite believe he was only offering her a t shirt ( _desperate times)_ , she didn't bother arguing with him just then. She tossed his now disgusting t shirt back onto the floor with a roll of her eyes and James laughed, pulled her down onto the couch so that she was lying half on his chest. There wasn't a lot of space on the couch, but James was warm, she was tired, and she didn't mind being pressed between James and the sofa cushions. She laid her head on his chest, listened to his heart thrumming away steadily under her ear. Her right arm was wedged, not entirely comfortably, under her body, but her left arm was free, so she moved her hand lightly over his stomach, her fingers spreading out over his skin. She laid there quietly for a moment, letting her mind wander for a few minutes.

"So," Lily said, picking her head up off his chest, "how are you going to do it?" He was lying there, one arm behind his head, the other wrapped around her back, his fingers gliding up and down her side. His arm couldn't move much, wedged between her body and the back of the sofa, and his fingers traced a short, familiar pattern over her skin. His eyes were closed and he looked so damn gorgeous that she wanted to kiss him again.

"Do what?" James didn't open his eyes, just kept tracing his fingers over the curve of her waist, the swell of her hip. Lily shifted onto her side and moved up, rested her head beside James'. She smirked even though she knew he couldn't see her, "How are you going to propose?"

James' eyes snapped open and he turned his head to look at her. He studied her for a moment, his eyes moving slowly over her features, "Not sure. What would you like? Ideally?" He turned onto his side so that he could see her better, pressed his hand flat against her lower back and pulled her closer against him. He still had his glasses on, but they were sticking out awkwardly now that he was lying on his side, and Lily reached up with her free hand to take them off and dropped them onto the floor behind them. Now that he didn't have his glasses on, she knew that he wouldn't be able to see her clearly at all unless she was right in front of him, but there was barely enough room on the sofa for her to worry about that.

"I don't know," she said, "I've honestly never thought about it."

James hummed, "That doesn't surprise me. You never seemed the type to sit around and daydream about your future wedding." Lily laughed quietly, "No, I tended to daydream about becoming Prime Minister or something."

James leaned forward and kissed her briefly, his lips feather light against her own and making her press herself harder against him. He just smiled before he pulled away a bit, "Alright, then, anything you know you _wouldn't_ like?"

Lily moved her hand from her side, brushed her fingers through James' unbearably chaotic hair while she considered his question. "Well," she said, "I guess I wouldn't want something too dramatic. Like a flash mob or whatever. You know, those things people were doing a few years ago."

James cringed, "I guess I'll have to tell Sirius to cancel the rest of our rehearsals then." Lily laughed, smacked his chest, "Oh, you git."

James just caught her hand, pressed a kiss to her palm. "Alright," he said, letting her hand drop, "No flash mobs. Are you opposed to one in public at all or?"

Lily shrugged, "I don't think so? I mean, maybe not in the middle of fucking Oxford Circus at peak time or something, but I don't know. Like I said, I've never thought about it."

James hummed but didn't say anything for a while. Lily, assuming they were done talking, curled herself up against James' chest, pressed her face into his neck and closed her eyes. James' arms closed around her, the ends of his fingers moving up to play with her hair. They stayed like that for a moment when James hummed again and Lily leaned back to look at him, "What?"

James just shook his head, kissed her forehead. "Nothing, love." He closed his eyes, pulled Lily back in, and they fell asleep.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello friends - we're back with the last main chapter of The Underground. We all know what this is (with a sprinkling of some unexpected (light) smut), but I hope you enjoy anyway xx**

 **VERY IMPORTANT SIDE NOTE: UK readers! You have until the 22nd (THAT'S TODAY) at midnight to register to vote in the upcoming election! FF probably won't display the URL (UGH) but you can go to gov DOT uk SLASH register-to-vote**

 **^^ SERIOUSLY, DO IT. Okay, on with the fic**

* * *

Lily tried her best to forget about the scene back at the end of May, to stop thinking that every tiny thing James did was a potential proposal. It didn't help that James, the bastard, thought it was hilarious to start pretending that he was actually proposing at random. He would kneel down beside her while they waited for the Tube in Stratford to tie his shoe, would start giving her romantic speeches in the middle of coffee shops, restaurants, their kitchen. She threatened him with death on multiple occasions, but it only seemed to spur him on. _Knobhead._

It had the effect, though, of dulling her attention, of making her forget, a bit, that the proposal was something that was really going to happen, and, when she thought back on it later, it seemed like that was what James was going for. He knew that she knew that he was going to do it, but he still wanted to be able to surprise her.

Luckily for James, work in the Foreign Office increased about a hundred-fold after the summer bank holiday, and Lily was now almost constantly at work. She brought home bigger and bigger bags of files each night, stayed up later in the evening, barely got any bloody sleep. She usually worked in her office, what had been Remus' room for all of two minutes when he'd lived here, sometimes spreading out the files on their bed and leaning back onto the pillows while she sorted through the reports. James usually left her to it, didn't grumble, didn't whine about how she was spending all night holed up in her office, and she was so, so grateful that he didn't pressure her to just forget work the moment she got home. It would have been nice to have a break, to lie on the couch with James and watch Netflix… she wanted to do those things, but she wanted to get ahead at work, too. And so she made a choice.

It was the difficult thing about pursuing this kind of career… that she'd often have to choose work over the rest of her life. She didn't feel good about it, didn't _want_ James to have to sit there by himself when they got home from work, but she also didn't regret the choice that she was making, knew that if roles were reversed, she would encourage James to make the same choice that he was encouraging her to make. If she kept on the path that she was on (and Minerva seemed increasingly confident that this would be the case for her), this job was going to ask a lot of them both, was going to require sacrifices on both their parts. And James seemed prepared to make those sacrifices, to let her and her work take centre stage. She knew that it couldn't always be that way, that it wouldn't be fair to him, to either of them, if that were the case, but she would need these bursts of time, and she was glad that he was willing to give them to her.

Mid-June, she brought home the largest bag of files yet - as soon as she and James fell through the door of their flat, she carried the bag into their bedroom, changed into trackies, wiped off all her makeup, and spread all the files out on their bed. She probably should have gone into her office, but she'd had a long day sitting behind a desk and she just wanted to sit in her comfortable bed in her soft trousers and get through these fucking briefs. James kicked his shoes off into the bottom of his wardrobe, planted a kiss to the side of her head, left her to her work.

She was about halfway through the first stack of policy briefs when she noticed James standing in the doorway. She sat up, pushed her reading glasses up into her hair, and smiled at him, "I'm about halfway, through." James grinned, "That was fast."

He had his hands in his trouser pockets and was leaning casually against the door frame, and she felt her heartbeat pick up a bit, looking at him like that. He hadn't changed out of his work clothes yet and there was something so devastatingly handsome about him in those khaki trousers, that white button-up with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows… she knew it looked even better when he had the lab coat overtop, but it was best that he left that at work. She might never let him leave the bedroom otherwise. She licked her bottom lip, nodded, "I know, I might actually be done with enough time to watch some telly with you or something."

James grinned, "Well, I'll let you get back to it, then, but I wanted to ask what you wanted for dinner?" He was fiddling with something in his pocket, and she just smiled at him. _Fidgety bastard._ She shrugged, "Whatever you want is fine. Though, oh my god, I think we still have some of that soup you made?"

James smiled, "The salmorejo?"

Lily groaned, "Yesss! If we have enough, we can have that? Sit out on the terrace?"

James hummed, "Good plan, Evans. I'll boil some eggs. Do you want prosciutto too, or?" Lily shrugged, "If we have it, but if we don't it's no big deal."

James nodded, "Alright." Lily smiled, slid her glasses back down her nose and opened the file she'd been reading, started mumbling the words under her breath while she took notes for her Parliamentary reports. Minerva wasn't expecting first drafts of these reports until Friday, but Lily knew she could get them to her tomorrow. They were only summary reports on current common EU foreign policy, and it wasn't going to take Lily too long to pull them together - and, honestly, the earlier they got them over to Parliament, the better. The MPs had some shit to hash out. _I still can't believe we're fucking doing this, but alright._

When James called her twenty minutes later, she had finished about half her remaining stack of files and she figured she'd earned a bit of a rest. She was a lot further ahead than she'd expected to be at this point, but she was more familiar with the various policy areas than she'd anticipated. _All this hard work must be paying off._ She walked out into the kitchen, rested one hand on James' forearm, kissed him briefly, "Thanks for pulling dinner together, love."

He grinned, kissed her again, "No problem, Evans. Now," he turned and held up two bottles of wine, "red or white?"

Lily hummed, "Shit… hmm… well, we had red last time, let's do white tonight."

James nodded, uncorked the bottle, poured a bit into a glass, and handed it to her. She took a quick, thoughtful sip, and nodded, "Perfect."

They carried everything out onto the table on the terrace and James poured them full glasses of wine while Lily grabbed them glasses of water from the kitchen. Before Lily had moved in, James had largely used the terrace as a house for the grill he almost never used and the firepit he and Sirius had purchased on a whim, but now that Lily had put a table out there, they'd taken to eating outside more often (and using the fire pit responsibly when it was cold enough). She loved sitting at the table, glass of wine (or gin if necessary) in hand, sun setting over Victoria Park, James smiling at her from across the table, laughter on his lips as he recounted a story from earlier that day, a month ago, ten years ago. She loved seeing his eyes light up as he recalled the details, watching his hands move in increasingly animated gestures, listening to his bright, full laugh echo around them… he always made her so, so happy and she sometimes couldn't even believe that she'd managed to live almost thirty years without him by her side.

She practically inhaled the soup as soon as they sat down and James laughed so hard he nearly spit wine on himself. Lily cocked an eyebrow, wiped a bit of soup from the corner of her mouth, "What?" James shook his head, still laughing, "I was just thinking that that was exactly how you'd eat earlier and I wasn't disappointed."

Lily threw a bit of egg at him and James laughed as he ducked and the egg flew behind him. Lily scowled and he just winked, "Gotta be better than that, love."

Lily took a long drag of her wine, held her fingers up at him, and James just laughed, blew her a kiss. She rolled her eyes, but he knew he'd won by the smile on her face.

They chatted about work, what they were going to have for lunch on Saturday now that it was their turn to host again, and other random things that popped into their minds as they sat there, eating the bread still on the table, watching the sun go down. It always amazed her that they never ran out of things to talk about - they spoke every day, nearly all day, and she couldn't believe that they hadn't yet run out of things to say to one another.

Lily took a piece of bread from the board in the centre of the table, scraped it against her empty soup bowl, "Minerva seems to think that we can get the Tories to agree to this budget we've been working on but," Lily stuffed the piece of bread into her mouth, "I'm not so sure we'll get them to see the light on this. They're slashing budgets at home as it is, how are we going to get them to agree to maintain this level of funding for foreign projects?"

James shrugged, "Well, you have the evidence on your side, don't you? Proof that these programmes work?"

Lily laughed, tossed another piece of bread into her mouth, "How long have you lived in this country?" James laughed, nodded, "Fair."

"Anyway," Lily took a long draught of her wine, "I think I'm going to finish reading these bloody reports tonight, though, and I can write up summaries for the MPs tomorrow once I get into the office and get them to Minerva before lunch."

James scooped up what looked to be his final bite of soup, "Didn't Minerva want these by Friday?"

Lily grinned, "Yup." She exaggerated the pop of the 'p' and James grinned at her, "You'll be getting that promotion before you know it, Evans."

As soon as they'd both finished eating, Lily carried their dishes into the kitchen while James poured them both another glass of wine; when she got back, he'd moved his chair so that he was sitting next to her. He draped his arm across her as soon as she sat down, letting his hand splay out across her lower back, and she smiled, rested her head on his shoulder, and sighed contentedly as he turned, pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "You always smell so good," James said, and Lily turned her head, buried her nose into his neck, "You do too."

James hummed, the vibration of his throat tickling her neck a bit and she chuckled, nuzzled her nose against his skin. James took a deep breath, "I love you, Evans."

Lily leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to the side of his neck, just under his ear, and smiled when he shuddered a bit, "I love you, too, Potter."

They sat there quietly for a few moments sipping their wine, his fingers tracing shapes onto her lower back, before James' voice broke the silence, "Where do you think they'll send you when you get your first foreign appointment?"

Lily hummed, "I don't know, haven't thought about it much. I know where I'd _like_ to go though."

"Oh?"

"Ideally, I'd stay in Europe, and, honestly, all my research is eurocentric, so I'm not sure I'd be that useful anywhere else. France would be nice, but any French speaking country will do, really. Or English speaking, but I imagine they'd rather put my French to good use."

James nodded, turned to look at her briefly before looking back out at the trees in the park across the way, "It would be nice to stay on the continent. We'd still be close to everyone that way."

Lily didn't miss the pronoun and she felt her heart start hammering in her chest again. She took a breath, "They could send me anywhere, though. In theory." She'd been nervous about this, turning it around in the back of her mind ever since she realised that James was intending to propose. They'd talked about this before, of course, and he knew that working in a foreign embassy was her goal. She knew that he knew it, but once she realised the depth of his commitment, she wanted to be sure that he knew exactly what he was getting himself into.

James must have felt her stiffen a bit against his arm because he turned in his chair to look at her, "You know I'd follow you anywhere, Evans."

"You would?"

James nodded, leaned forward and pressed his forehead to hers, "Absolutely. There are museums everywhere and I've got connections. You have to go where your work takes you… and I want you to do that. I want you to get everything you've ever wanted, I'm not about to stand in your way."

Lily bit her lip, "What if we have to move halfway across the world?"

"Are you going to be there?"

Lily laughed, "Obviously."

James looked very seriously back at her, his gaze steady, "Then I'm alright with it."

He hadn't told her anything that she didn't already know, but hearing it again made Lily's heart stutter in her chest. He really was okay with it, he would really follow her, they would really be able to do this. Lily leaned forward, closed the distance between them, and pressed her lips softly to his, set her wine down on the table before she moved her hand up to tangle in his hair and deepened the kiss. He tasted like wine and tomato, a bit spicy from the peppers, and she tugged on his bottom lip with her teeth as she pressed herself closer to him, doing her best to ignore the armrest pressing into her stomach as she leaned across it. When he wound his hand into her hair, his fingers skimming across her jaw, down her neck, she didn't give a single damn about the arm rest.

He pulled away a moment later, pressed his forehead to hers again, "I'm serious, you know," he said, his hand brushed through her hair, moved up to cup her cheek, "I would follow you to fucking Antarctica if that's what it came to."

Lily laughed breathlessly, "I don't think there's a British Embassy in Antarctica." James laughed, bumped his nose against hers, "You know what I mean, Evans."

She nodded, pressed a light kiss to his lips again, "I do."

James hummed against her lips, "Can't wait until I get to hear you say that in an entirely different context."

Lily laughed, pushed her hand against his shoulder, "When are you doing that by the way?" James just grinned, swallowed the rest of his wine, stood up, grabbed her glass off the table, and winked at her over his shoulder as he walked towards the kitchen door, "Wouldn't you like to know, Evans."

* * *

All told, she probably should have been expecting it would be soon. And in a way, she was - she just wasn't expecting it to be _this_ soon.

The morning was a normal one, though she supposed they always are, or at least seem to be in retrospect. She woke up just gone six, half an hour before her alarm, and while she normally would have slid out from under the duvet, tiptoed into the kitchen, had a bit of quiet before James woke up, when she opened her eyes and saw him lying sprawled on the bed next to her, she couldn't bring herself to move. He was lying on his stomach, his back muscles on full display, one arm wrapped around her waist, fingers twitching against her skin where her shirt had ridden up, his other arm buried underneath the pillow he was resting on. One of his legs was hanging off the side of the bed, his hair was standing up even more chaotically on top of his head, his mouth was hanging open, and though he looked a bit mad spread out like that, she felt her heart swell just looking at him. He looked so unbearably adorable that she can't be blamed for sliding closer to him, pressing a kiss to his neck, and waking him up.

James groaned, nudged his head along the pillow, eyes closed, until he buried his face in her neck, "What time is it?"

She chuckled as his warm breath blew across her skin, "Just gone six." James groaned again, but the hand on her stomach slid up underneath her t shirt, fingers pressing into her skin. She grinned, _he's so damn predictable,_ buried her hand in his hair and moved his head so he could look at her. He kept his eyes resolutely closed and she chuckled, leaned forward and kissed him softly. "Alright, sleepy baby. I'll leave you to it. I'm going to go get in the shower."

She climbed out of bed and was halfway to the door when she heard his mock-feeble voice say, "Evans, wait, don't leave me."

She turned, broad grin on her face though she knew he couldn't see her from this distance. He'd rolled over onto his back and one of his hands was waving out in front of him, his eyes still closed, "Take me with you," he said, and though she laughed, "You're such a prat," she crossed the room, grabbed him by the hand, and pulled him from bed. He stumbled across the floor, wrapped his arms around her waist, used her body to steady him, and she shook her head as he pressed his forehead to hers, "I can't see."

Lily laughed, "I know, you're useless without your glasses." His hands found her hips, he moved his mouth down to kiss her neck as he slid her knickers down her legs. "I have to be at work early today," she said, as she kicked her pants off onto the floor and walked them backwards towards the en suite.

"Oh?" He kissed the underside of her jaw and she shuddered against him. "Yeah, I have an 8 o'clock meeting."

James hummed against her neck, "So you're catching the - " and she groaned again as his fingers brushed between her thighs, pushed their bathroom door open with her back.

"The 7:13, yeah," Lily said, stepping back from James and pulling her shirt over her head. He opened his eyes as she stepped back, and he blinked, trying desperately to focus his eyes, "These fucking things," he grumbled and she laughed, stepped forward, and slid his trunks down his thighs, "I think you're practised enough that you don't need to see, yeah?"

Messing about in the shower always seemed sexier in movies than it ended up being in real life, and, as such, she and James tended to avoid it unless they were really short on time and needed to compress some of their morning activities. Still, they'd done it often enough (especially lately), and Lily took him into her hand the moment they stepped into the shower, pushing his back up against the cold tiles while she moved her hand over him in quick, smooth strokes.

James groaned, "You're just jumping right to it, then?" Lily hummed, leaned forward, kissed his neck, "I told you, we don't have a lot of time."

James moaned as she twisted her hand a bit, "Shouldn't you wash your hair or something?"

She chuckled against his neck, "Do you want me to stop?" She moved her hand in a few more quick strokes and James groaned, dropped his forehead to her shoulder, "Fuck, no, keep - "

She did, and it wasn't long before he swore again and she felt his knees shake against hers as they struggled to keep him upright. She pressed another kiss to his neck, leaned up and smiled, "Now I'll wash my hair." She winked and he just laughed breathlessly, closed his eyes, and rested his head against the tile wall, "You're trying to kill me, Evans."

She'd just finished putting conditioner in her hair when James wrapped his arms around her waist, "I was hoping you'd come around soon," she said, going to turn in his arms, but his hand gripped her hip and stopped her from moving, "Nope."

She turned her head to glare at him, "What do you mean 'nope'?"

James moved the hand on her hip to the inside of her thigh, picked up her leg and rested her foot on the inside ledge of the shower. "I mean," he said, leaning down and pressing a kiss to the side of her neck while he slid his hand back up her thigh, "nope."

He brushed his fingers against her and she groaned, let her head fall back onto his chest. But still, she couldn't resist sassing him, "I don't take kindly to being told what to do, Potter." He pressed his thumb against her clit, whispered "Don't lie, Evans," into her ear, her moan echoed around them.

One of his hands moved up and grasped her breast while the other began tracing slow circles around her clit, making her knees tremble as they fought to continue supporting her weight. James leaned down, pressed his teeth into her neck, careful not to leave a mark, but enough to make her groan and push her back into his chest. He let his hand slide from her breast and dipped one, two fingers inside her, as he kissed her neck, rubbed his fingers in quicker circles against her. Her head fell back against his chest and she arched into his hand, desperate for just a bit more pressure, and when he curled his fingers inside her, she came undone. James pressed his forearm more tightly against her thigh to keep her upright, moving his fingers in increasingly slower circles as she came down, littering kisses across her neck and shoulders as her breathing slowed.

She took a moment, using his chest as support, before she took a deep breath and stepped out of his arms. She spun on the spot, dipped her head back into the water to rinse the conditioner out. "We're getting really good at this," she said, smiling as she combed her fingers through her hair. James watched the small bubbles trace their way over her skin and she smirked at him before tossing him his shampoo. "Wash your hair, you prat."

She quickly washed her body, swatting off James' attempts to run his hands over her (and, thus, distracting them and making her miss the train), before she leaned forward, pressed another kiss to his neck, and stepped out of the shower. "You coming with me on the early train or are you going to go in the usual time," she asked as she grabbed her toothbrush out of the holder, put toothpaste on, and stuffed it into her mouth.

"Uh, what time is it now?"

Lily stepped out of the bathroom to look at the clock on their bedside table, " _Fuck_ , 6:20."

James groaned, "I don't have too much to do around the house this morning, I'll just come with you. I could use more time at the office today anyway, I have a bunch of reports to finish."

Lily dropped her toothbrush back into the holder, ran some product through her hair, "Oh god, now we're both going to be overworked."

James stepped out of the shower and didn't miss the way that Lily's eyes traced over him in the mirror. He winked and she rolled her eyes, but smiled when he walked over, planted a wet kiss to her neck. He went to grab her waist and kiss her again but she laughed, swatted his chest, "Noooo, Potter, we don't have time for this again."

He frowned but she just shook her head, laughed, "Brush your teeth. I'll go put the kettle on, yeah?"

They made it to the the station with just a few minutes to spare before their train was set to arrive. James seemed to be in an unusually good mood that morning, one she attributed, at the time, to their exploits in the shower. He kept laughing, burying his face in her hair, trailing kisses across her skin and making her shiver - pretty much everyone on the Tube hated them that morning, but by the time they'd gotten to West Ham, Lily wasn't able to find it within herself to care.

She kissed James goodbye in Westminster, laughing as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulled her back in for one more before he went to his District train. "I'm going to be late," she said, laughing as he kissed her again. He smiled against her lips, kissed her once more for good measure, "I know, I know. I love you, Evans."

She grinned, pushed him on the chest so he wouldn't capture her again, "I love you, too, Potter. See you tonight." She blew him a kiss and walked over to the escalator out of the station.

Her day went by as usual - she had a productive morning meeting, handed an impressed Minerva a stack full of MP reports before she went off to lunch, fielded cheeky texts from James all day about what he couldn't stop thinking about while sitting at his computer at work. His last one made her flush so violently red that she had to tell her assistant Penelope that she was just a bit hot, needed some air. Penelope had raised her eyebrow knowingly, but said nothing, and Lily made a mental note to advocate for her to get a pay rise at her next review.

The afternoon had flown by in a mess of meetings and phone calls, and by the time she was gathering her things just gone five, she was properly exhausted. She heard her mobile beep while she was walking out of the building, but hadn't actually pulled it out to check what it was until she was walking down Parliament Street.

 _James Potter:_ Have to stay a bit late tonight - still finishing up that marking report. Sorry :(

Lily hummed, brushed her hair back from her eyes. She'd been looking forward to seeing him, but she knew how important this report was. And it wasn't like she hadn't been putting work first a lot lately. She typed back a quick response -

 _Lily Evans:_ No worries, love. I'll get started on dinner. What do you want? x

He replied almost immediately -

 _James Potter:_ Whatever you like. I'll see you when I get home. Guess what? Xxxxx

She smiled to herself, widely, uncontrollably as she turned onto Bridge Street. Some man in a suit raised an eyebrow as she walked by, but she shot him a look and he diverted his eyes.

 _Lily Evans:_ I love youuuu xxxxxxxxx

She put her phone back into her bag, pulled her Oyster out of the outside pocket as she went down the stairs into the station, remembering grab a paper from the man at the entrance as she went. She rolled the paper under her arm and strode quickly towards the turnstiles, trying her best to avoid hitting anyone with her bag on the way. The station was packed, as always, but the energy of the place felt almost mundane now. When she moved back to London a year and a half ago, she'd been overwhelmed by the mass of people everywhere, had forgotten just how big London was, how busy Central London could be. Brussels was a city, a big city, but it had _nothing_ on London, and it had taken her a long time to get used to living in a city this large again. She'd expected, when she first moved back, that returning to London would be like coming back home and, in a way, it was. But in the quieter bustle of Brussels, she'd forgotten just how mad London could be. She spent the first few weeks back completely overwhelmed, but she'd adjusted more quickly than she'd imagined, something like muscle memory resurfacing to guide her. Still, if Lily then could see Lily now… she would be pretty fucking impressed to say the least.

She slid through the crowd, took the escalator down to the Jubilee line, made her way to the Stratford platform. She pulled the paper out from under her arm, glanced at the headlines. _Brexit… America being stupid… funny how little has changed in a year._ She rolled her eyes, shook her head, stuffed the paper back under her arm while she waited patiently for her train to arrive. Her mobile pinged in her bag and she let it slide from her shoulder into the crook of her elbow, dug her mobile out from the bottom of her bag. _Email from Minerva._ She replied quickly to the email, stuffed her mobile back into her bag as the train pulled up. She, miraculously, managed to find a seat, and she sat down, pulled the newspaper out from under her arm, and hid immediately behind it.

The train had just left Canning Town when there was a thud across from her and she looked up, startled. It took a minute for her to realise what she was seeing, like the cogs in her brain were stuck, just _click click click_ ing in her head and couldn't move. He…

"James?"

James' hands were shaking when he reached up to push his glasses back up the bridge of his nose, were still shaking when he lowered his hand back down to his side. Lily opened her mouth to ask him what was wrong, why he was even there, when he smiled at her from across the train, "Hey, Evans."

His voice was shaking a bit and her heart started hammering in her chest as her brain struggled to put it all together. _Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my -_

James cleared his throat, "You once asked me if I liked living all the way out here because I get to meet women on the Tube," she laughed and James just beamed at her, "and back then, I said no… but I never expected that moving to formerly-dodgy East London would bring me the love of my life, so I guess in a way you were right, as always," she chuckled, nodded, brushed a piece of hair out of her eyes. "Lily," he said, his voice stronger than it was a moment before, more sure, "You are… you are _everything._ You are brilliant and strong and hilarious and stunning, and you make me want to be the best man that I can be. You are the best thing, the very best thing that has happened to me in my entire life and I love you _so_ much. I love you more than I even know how to say. And we've only got a minute until we get to West Ham, so I don't have enough time to say it all anyway." James grinned and Lily laughed, a light, bright laugh that was nothing compared to the happiness ballooning in her chest.

The train pulled into West Ham and James paused, waited for the people around them to get on and off the train. His eyes were trained on hers and Lily felt her heartbeat hammering in her chest. She just wanted him to ask already, wanted to give him the answer he knew was coming, wanted to fucking celebrate because _oh my god_ James fucking Potter was everything she never knew that she wanted and she - the train doors shut and James broke into a glorious, heart stopping smile,

"I know that we didn't properly meet until we got to that Costa, but the moment I saw you on that Central Line train, I knew that you were going to change my life," his eyes were shining with tears and Lily took a deep breath, dipped her head back a bit to collect herself, "and so when I thought about how I was going to do this, I couldn't think of a better place to ask you about our future than the place where we got our start."

"I've been carrying this around in my pocket for the last few months," James said, his smile widening as he spoke, "waiting for the right time to ask you this," he reached into his pocket, pulled out a small black box, and Lily breathed out a laugh as he crossed the train, got down onto one knee in front of her, put one hand on the other side of her seat to steady himself as the train rocked underneath them. She could feel everyone in the carriage staring at them, knew they were all waiting on tenterhooks for her answer, but nothing, _nothing_ could distract her from the look in James' eyes, the smile on his face, the way his hands were trembling nervously as he held the little box in his hands. He licked his bottom lip, "Evans Lily Evans," she laughed again and his smile got impossibly wider as her heart swelled in her chest, "will you marry me?"

"Yes," she grabbed him by the collar, leaned forward, and pulled his mouth to hers, "Yes, yes, yes, yes."

The carriage had exploded into applause, people were shouting their congratulations, but James' mouth was on hers, he was laughing against her lips, her heart was bursting in her chest, and there was nothing else in the entire world.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello friends - here's our epilogue. I wanted to thank you, every single one of you, for reading this story and sticking with me. I've heard from so many of you in the comments (and omg if you left comments, ALL THE KUDOS - writers work so hard to create content and you have no idea how happy it makes us to get feedback) and I'm sad to be completing this story.**

 **BUT - I am planning on continuing with these characters a bit, filling them out a bit more in one-shots as they come to me. This will be a collection from this universe (I'm calling it "The Underground - Director's Cut" because I'm a complete twat), so if you want more of these characters being their ridiculous selves, be on the lookout for that in the very near future (*cough* later today *cough*). The pieces will vary in length, but I can almost guarantee that they'll be much shorter than the average chapter of The Underground.**

 **Anyway, enough rambling on my part. I just want to say, again, thank you so much for being here with me, and I hope to see you in the comments of one of my future fics (and if you're on Tumblr, LET'S BE FRIENDS - I use the same username). Xxxx**

* * *

"I'm not putting on anything nicer than a cocktail dress, so you all better not have chosen some fancy fucking place."

James laughed, his voice bouncing off the walls of their bathroom - it was loud enough that she could hear him from where she standing in their wardrobe, even over the sound of the shower.

"You should be alright in semi-formal, that's what I'm wearing," he shouted and she hummed thoughtfully, grabbed a few dresses off the rack and walked back out into the bedroom. She laid the dresses out on their bed and held them up against her in turn, tossed the navy blue and plum coloured ones off onto their pillows with a shake of her head.

"What colour do you think?" She was looking at herself in a mirror, turning a bit to check the emerald dress against her skin. James still hadn't emerged from the bathroom, but she heard him shout, "What about that green one?"

She laughed quietly, dropped her towel, and pulled her favourite, James' favourite, emerald dress over her head. The dress Euphemia had given her had survived over ten years in her wardrobe before age (her's and the dress's) had finally taken it's toll - she'd replaced it, though, as soon as she realised it was time. It brought her back to her very first year in the diplomatic service, and she never quite got enough of the way that James' eyes moved over her when she wore it. Her body certainly wasn't what it was when she was 28 - her joints ached at the end of a long day, she'd never quite gotten rid of that baby pouch on her front, the corners of her eyes crinkled a lot more than they usually did when she laughed (and the crinkles never quite went away now), and even though she sometimes looked in the mirror and forgot that _that_ is what she looked like now, you never would have known that she'd changed at all if you just watched the way James looked at her. He looked at her, every time, like it was the first time.

She was sitting at her dressing table touching up her curls when James walked in, planted a wet kiss to the side of her neck. She laughed, the water dripping out of his hair and down onto her neck, she snapped her curling wand at him, "You're going to ruin my makeup." She pressed her hand into his towel-covered hip, shoved him over towards the rack of suits on the other side of their wardrobe.

He laughed, "Well, I'm sure you'd still look gorgeous with ruined makeup, love."

Lily caught his eye in her mirror as she added the final touch to her hair, "Regardless." She winked and he laughed.

She finished touching up her hair and left their room so James could get dressed, went to go round up Harry and make sure he was dressed and ready. He had a tendency to procrastinate, especially when he knew that he was expected to spend the next few hours in any kind of formal wear. She walked down the hall, her heels clicking on the tile, and knocked on his door, "Harry?"

"Yes, Mum?"

She pushed his door open and poked her head in, "Just checking to see that you're dressed. Everyone will be here soon."

Harry walked out of his bathroom, comb in hand, "Yeah, I'm dressed. I don't have to make my hair lie flat do I?"

Lily laughed, shook her head, "Your father doesn't bother, I don't see why you should."

Harry sighed with relief, pitched the comb onto his chest of drawers, "Thank god," and sat down on the end of the bed to pull his shoes on.

Lily stood there watching him for a moment, her heart clenching just a bit in her chest as she looked at him, all dressed up like that. Harry usually preferred to stay home or go stay with friends while she and James went off to whatever embassy event she had to go to, and so it had been awhile since she'd seen Harry in a suit. He was only sixteen, still just a baby, _her_ baby, but he looked so grown up that she felt her eyes well up a bit. She saw him every day, of course, the fact that he'd grown wasn't a surprise, but still - he had grown up so much faster than she'd ever expected him to, and, from time to time, it struck her just how old he was now. Her mother had said it all her life, Euphemia had told her it would happen when Harry was born, but she'd never expected that it would happen for her so soon. She blinked back tears, exhaled sharply, and Harry looked up at her, "You alright, Mum?"

He stood and walked over to her, and Lily leaned her head up to look at him. _Of course Harry had to grow as tall as bloody James, giant bastards._ She smiled, nodded, "You just look so grown up, that's all."

Harry flushed a bit, buried his hand in his hair, and Lily smiled. _So much like his father._

"Alright," she said, patting him on the arm, "go ahead downstairs, let me know when Aunt Marlene and Co. get here, and, if you can, please remind Charity that I was serious when I said we didn't need her this weekend. I'm going to go check on your father."

Harry nodded and was about halfway down the hallway towards the stairs when Lily remembered, "Oh! And Harry -"

Harry froze on the stairs, turned to look at her. "Yes, Mum?"

"Don't eat anything. Uncle Remus said they all made a reservation somewhere."

Harry groaned, clutched at his stomach, "But Mum, I'm hungry!"

Lily shot him a look and Harry just sighed, "Alright."

She shook her head, laughing to herself, as she continued down the corridor towards her and James' room, _Between James and Harry, it's a wonder we can keep any food in the bloody house._

She rapped lightly on the door as she opened it, "James?"

"Wardrobe."

She shut the door quietly behind her and walked to their wardrobe, found James standing in front of her vanity mirror doing up his tie, jacket tossed over the back of her chair. She'd seen James in more suits and tuxedos than she could count over the years, given how many bloody galas, embassy events, and whatever the hell else they went to, but the sight of him in a suit never failed to make her heart skip a beat. His hair still, always, stood chaotically on top of his head (it looked marginally tamer at the moment, but it was still damp from his shower and she knew that it was only a matter of time), his glasses were still askew (though he'd long since upgraded to "more mature tortoise shell lenses"), his jaw was still covered in a thick shadow of stubble, though it was now flecked with grey to match the salt-and-pepper hair beginning to grow in around his temples.

She let her eyes move slowly over him, take in the way his shirt stretched over his broad back, the way his trousers sat on his impossibly amazing bum. He'd aged, _surely he'd aged,_ but every time she looked at him, it never felt like it. She still felt like she did the first time she ever saw him, her heart stuttering in her chest, her hands desperate to touch him. She'd never, not once, imagined that she would find someone who made her feel the way James did, who _kept_ her feeling the way James did, but there he was, as always, to defy all her expectations.

He caught her eye in the mirror, and the cheekiness of the wink he gave her told her that he knew she'd been checking out his arse in his suit trousers. Lily smacked his bum playfully while James finished knotting his tie, "Nice arse, Potter."

James laughed, spun around quickly, and grabbed her around the waist, pressed her to him. She laughed loudly, dipped her head back as he leaned forward and planted kisses to her neck, "They're going to be here soon." She sounded breathless, and though she was trying to reprimand him, she knew that he knew he could win her over if he really wanted to.

He planted a few more searing kisses to her neck when they heard Harry yell from downstairs, "Mum! Dad! Uncle Sirius says - NO, I'M NOT SAYING THAT!"

"Oh god," James said, pulling away, "he's going to corrupt poor Harry yet."

Lily laughed, ran her hands over the front of her dress to smooth out any creases, "Serves us right for making him godfather, don't you think?"

James laughed as they turned and walked out of the wardrobe, "Excellent point as always, Evans."

She turned to grin at him as they crossed the room and she opened their bedroom door. He just rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, yeah."

She winked cheekily and barely suppressed a scream of laughter when he smacked her bum on the way down the stairs. Sirius, Remus, Marlene, and Dorcas were all standing just inside the front door, and Harry, still red in the face from whatever Sirius had tried to get him to say, was standing in the corner frantically typing out a message on his mobile.

"Took you long enough, _christ,_ " Sirius said, letting his head fall back dramatically onto Remus' shoulder as they made their way into the entry. Remus shook his head, "I don't know why we keep thinking that he's going to grow out of this attitude."

Lily walked across the entry and pulled Marlene and Dorcas into a hug ("Did you all bring in your bags?" "Charity took them when we walked in.") as Sirius turned his head, smirked at Remus, "Please, you love it." And though Remus opened his mouth to protest, the smile on his face when Sirius leaned over to kiss him said it all.

Harry stuffed his mobile into his trouser pocket, groaned, "Look, I'm glad you're all in love, but can we please go? I'm starving."

James ruffled Harry's hair, "Relax, son, we're going."

Lily waved everyone outside, walked quickly through the house to Charity's office. She knocked twice as she approached the door, and Charity looked up from the papers in her hands, smiled broadly when she noticed Lily standing there. Charity had been the staff supervisor at the residence for the past few years, and Lily had liked her immediately - she was kind, intelligent, and worked harder than Lily had ever seen anyone work in their life. Lily returned her smile, "I wanted to nip in and remind you that you're free to go at any point tonight. We won't need any of the staff this weekend, either."

Charity nodded, "Yes, Ambassador Potter, of course."

Lily grinned, patted the frame of the door with her hand as she took a step back, "I hope you have a restful weekend, Charity. You really do work too hard."

Charity just smiled, "It's an honour to serve, Madame." Lily just grinned knowingly, "Even still. Good night, Charity."

She found James waiting for her on the front steps when she stepped outside, beaming at her as he reached out and took her hand. It was a bit cool out, especially for August, and Lily had half a mind to walk back into the house and grab a light jacket from the cupboard. She figured, though, that they would drink enough wine with dinner that it wouldn't matter if it was a bit chilly, and she could always take James' jacket if it came down to it. She pulled the door shut behind her as they all walked out and turned to walk down the steps when she froze, looked up at James, "Did he _really_ have to get a limo?"

James laughed, reached over and took her hand, "You've met Sirius, haven't you?"

Lily shook her head at Sirius as they all piled into the back of the limousine, "This is a bit extra, don't you think?"

Sirius handed her a flute of champagne, "This is your tenth anniversary, Red. We're celebrating." Lily sighed as Sirius handed James and Harry each a glass, "To Red." Sirius grinned cheekily at her.

They drank to her and Lily grinned, leaned her head on James' shoulder, "Thanks, everyone."

Remus smiled at her, "Of course, Lily. We wanted to be here for you. This is a huge night."

Marlene grinned, "Yeah, who would have thought. Our little Lily, first female ambassador to France."

Dorcas snorted, "I think we _all_ would have thought, yeah? It's Lily."

James squeezed her hand, turned and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

It was difficult for her to believe that she'd been at the embassy for ten years already. It seemed, sometimes, like she'd just gotten there (other days it felt like she'd been there for a hundred bloody years), but one look around, at her family, her friends, showed her just how much time had passed. Harry had just started primary school when they'd left England and now he was entering première, James was a bloody _curator,_ all their friends had long been married, were starting to grey around the temples just like they were. Sometimes she forgot that she wasn't 28 anymore, forgot that so much in her life had changed (though her 50 year old knees were quick to remind her).

They'd been the only one of their group to have kids, and even then, they'd only had Harry. Sirius and Remus had never had time for them, Marlene and Dorcas never wanted them, and after spending eighteen hellish hours in labour with Harry, Lily had told James he was never, ever impregnating her again or she was going to kill him. One child between the six of them actually worked well, and Harry's first six years in London were a mess of family parties, sleepovers with his aunts or uncles (the latter of which usually included many, many pictures of little Harry on the back on one of Sirius' motorbikes and a frantic series of phone calls from James), and more laughter than Lily could ever have predicted. They'd always laughed a lot as a group, though, so she probably shouldn't have been surprised. Once Marlene and Dorcas met at Lily and James' wedding (and began dating after basically shagging on the dance floor), their already rambunctious group of five became a raucous six, and they'd never had a quiet moment again.

It had been an adjustment, leaving London when Lily had been appointed (by the _Queen..._ the actual fucking Queen) a decade ago. Nearly every aspect of their life had changed - they left the comfort of their Stratford flat, moved to France, began raising a child in the bloody Hôtel de Charost, _had staff,_ left their friends back across the Channel, were surrounded by people speaking French all day… it had been an adjustment, but they'd gotten used to it, had come to love living in Paris. And Paris, Lily realised, wasn't so far away - Sirius, Remus, Marlene, and Dorcas were there so often, it was almost like they'd never left London sometimes. There was a bit more time between Saturday lunches, it took longer to get from one house to the other, but they were still as close as they'd ever been, closer even. Time, as it always does, have ravaged them all - they'd lost Euphemia a few years back, both of Lily's parents the year before, Marlene's mum just a few months ago - but they'd gotten through it all together.

They'd made new friends, too, with some of Lily's colleagues from the embassy. Harry become fast friends with Arthur Weasley's kids (but especially that Ron) and Gillian Granger's daughter - they were good kids and Lily felt almost nostalgic watching Harry with the two of them. His friendship with Ron and Hermione reminded her a lot, _a lot,_ of her friendship with Marlene when she'd been growing up, of the friendship James must have had with Remus and Sirius when he was younger - those are the friendships that grow and change alongside you, that shape who you are and how you look at the world. It had given Lily a sister, James his brothers, and watching Harry kick the football with Ron in the back garden, hearing the three of them chatting quietly in the grass at night as they laid out there and looked at the stars… Lily knew that Harry was in for the kind of friendships that she and James were lucky enough to have, the kind that had absolutely changed their lives.

James leaned over and pressed another kiss to the side of her head and Lily turned, smiled at him. He nodded at her still half-full glass, "Going to finish that?"

Lily tossed the rest of the drink back and Marlene wrapped her arm around her shoulders, "Nice to see age hasn't completely ruined you, Lil."

Lily held up her fingers at Marlene, but she just laughed, poured a bit more into Lily's glass.

"Mum?" Harry leaned across James, and Lily raised her eyebrow at him, "Are Ron and Hermione going to be - "

James cleared his throat, elbowed Harry in the stomach, "Ow!"

"Oops, sorry, son," James turned to Harry, patted his shoulder, and Harry leaned back over, looked at Lily, "Are Ron and Hermione going to be at that gala thing you're having next month?"

Lily shrugged, took a sip of her champagne, "I don't know, I'll have to ask Arthur and Gillian when I see them on Monday. Why?"

Harry shrugged, "I - uh - I thought Hermione said something about having to go to one of those things, that's all."

Lily tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, "Oh, well, I don't know, mate, but I'll ask."

Harry nodded and sat back in his seat.

They pulled up a few minutes later, though Lily couldn't see where they were with the tinted windows. They all climbed out of the car, making sure to leave Lily in the car last. She'd tried to get out first, but Remus had cut across her, held his arm up, "Not so fast."

"Remus!"

Remus shook his head, "I'm on orders, Red. No can do."

She glared at him, but Remus just smiled, sat there with his stupid gangly arm out while everyone else climbed out of the car. Harry laughed and gave her a cheeky, "Bye Mum," as he climbed out, and Lily's glare intensified. Remus just shrugged, "You know that doesn't affect me."

"This is why they told you to tell me you'd made a reservation isn't it? They're up to something!"

Remus just laughed while Dorcas climbed out of the car past them, "You would think that, eventually, those two would get better at keeping things under wraps. It's always _their_ schemes I'm covering for."

She didn't even need to ask which two. "Isn't it best that they're shit at keeping secrets?"

Remus laughed, nodded, "You're probably right. Could you imagine Sirius and Marlene, plotting shit, _and_ being able to keep it quiet?"

Lily groaned, "We'd be fucked."

Once everyone was out, Remus climbed out and extended his hand to Lily. She tried to glare at him again, but now she was more interested to know what they were up to than she was in trying (and failing) to intimidate Remus. She took his hand, and stepped out, taking a moment to look around. _Rue de Berri. What the fuck are they up to?_

"Remus, where - " Remus smiled, shook his head, "Talk to Mar."

Everyone else had crowded over by the door of the Hôtel Lancaster, but Marlene was standing by the boot, smiling broadly at her. Remus walked over to the group by the door, and Lily heard them all clapping Remus on the back, chuckling about god knows what, but Marlene smiled at Lily, "Figured it out yet?"

Lily shook her head, laughed, "No, but I know you all are up to something."

Marlene just grinned, "Well you'll find out, but I wanted a minute to - " Marlene broke off suddenly, tipped her head back, and, to Lily's surprise, blinked back tears. "Oh," Marlene stepped forward, wrapped her arms around Lily, and Lily felt tears welling up in her own eyes. Marlene took Lily by the elbows, held her at arm's length, "Lily, I am so _fucking_ proud of you, you know that? So fucking proud of you."

Lily clicked her tongue, reached up and wiped a tear from the corner of her eye, "Stop - "

Marlene just shook her head, "No... Lily, you've been my sister since we were in primary school, and I have watched you doing your damn best every day and you're genuinely changing the world, and I love you so much -"

Lily pulled Marlene in for another hug, "You're going to ruin my god damn makeup," and Marlene laughed in her ear, "Sorry, sorry," Marlene took her by the shoulders, took a deep breath before shaking her head a bit, smiled broadly at her, "Anyway, we are all so fucking proud of you, and we wanted to, uh," Marlene reached up and wiped her eyes, laughed, "now, don't kill us."

Lily started shaking her head, "Oh fuck, what have you all done?"

"Sirius and I may or may not have rented a reception room at this hotel," Marlene tipped her head at the Hôtel Lancaster, "and invited your embassy staff here to celebrate your anniversary."

"Oh," Lily pulled Marlene back in for a hug, squeezed her tightly before letting her go, stepping back, "thank you. I love you, too, you know."

Marlene grinned, looped her arm through Lily's and started walking them towards the group over by the door, "Though, let's be real, how could you _not_ love me?"

Lily laughed, rolled her eyes, "For fuck's sake."

Lily smiled at Harry when she and Marlene got to the door, "Did you almost give it up in the car?"

Harry flushed, "Yeah."

James laughed, dropped his arm over Harry's shoulder, "Sorry about the elbow, mate."

Harry elbowed James in the side and laughed when James huffed, "Now we're even." Sirius started laughing, leaned past Remus and gave Harry a high five, "Nice, mate."

They walked through the hotel lobby, up the stairs, and Lily took a moment to take a deep breath when they reached the door of the lounge they'd reserved. James took her hand, smiled brilliantly down at her, and nodded at Sirius who was waiting to open the door.

She felt something click on in her the moment she could see inside the lounge, the same switch that flipped whenever she went into any one of these embassy events. She smiled broadly, laughed as her colleagues shouted their congratulations. She took a moment to walk around the room, shake hands, smile warmly, James at her elbow, while Harry took the others around and introduced them to people they hadn't already met. Sirius announced that there was food, apparently, and alcohol, and people either clustered themselves at the various tables or carried glasses of wine with plates balanced on top as they moved about the room, chatted with one another. She was glad to see that this was a more informal gathering, despite the location - she wasn't sure she was up for some sit-down five course affair tonight. Lily had grabbed a plate, filled a glass to the brim with Merlot, and began making her way around the room.

Harry and James, of course, had taken to hovering near the food, Sirius was dragging Remus around to various tables, introducing himself and his "gorgeous husband, the chief of paediatric surgery at Great Ormond Street," and lighting up the room with his laugh, Lily ended up standing with Marlene, Dorcas, Arthur and Molly, chatting about Marlene's latest series of acquisitions for her gallery. She'd purchased a gallery space in Brixton almost a decade ago, and she had quickly started taking on new, exciting artists that she'd met while hanging around the university Dorcas had started teaching at a few years before. She watched as Marlene's eyes lit up while she talked about a brand new artist she'd discovered ("You'd never _believe_ the shit this guy can do with paint, it's mad!"), heard Remus' loud, steady laugh punctuated with Sirius' sharper, barking one from across the room, saw Harry and James chatting animatedly with Shaklebolt, lead diplomat on the UNESCO delegation, and she was struck, once again, by how much (but also how little) had changed for all of them.

Things finally started to settle down after about an hour, and Lily figured she should take a moment to thank her colleagues for coming out, should say a few words to try and express what she'd been mulling over as she'd walked around the room that night. She moved towards the front of the room, grabbed a fork from a table on her way, and clanked it gently against the side of her glass, unduly impressed by the silence that almost immediately fell.

Lily set the fork back down, smiled at the room, "Thank you for coming. _All_ of you," Sirius caught her eye from across the room, shot her a wink. She laughed, rolled her eyes, which, as always, just set Sirius laughing. Remus put his hand on Sirius' shoulder, grinned at Lily, his eyes dancing with amusement, and shrugged as if to say _at least he's using his powers for good this time._

She grinned and shrugged back, "So, I obviously didn't expect all of you to be here," chuckles reverberated through the room, "but as you're all here, I figure I might as well say a few things."

She noticed James take Harry by the elbow, whisper something in his ear, and they both began moving towards the front of the room. She flicked her eyes back to the room at large, "We're all here, presumably, to celebrate my tenth year in my role as ambassador, and while I am, of course, very proud of what I've been able to do, I want to take this opportunity to thank you all as well. In particular, I want to thank Michael Stebbins, my brilliant assistant, for always ensuring I've got my damn head on straight. Your job isn't always easy and I know that I ask a lot of you, but you've risen to the challenge and I'm grateful every day that you walked through our door six years ago. To Stebbins," She raised her glass, inclined her head towards Stebbins at the centre table and drank. The room reverberated with "To Stebbins," and Lily smiled as he turned a brilliant red.

She decided to end his torture and continued, "We've become, all of us, a brilliant team over the past decade. We are lucky to work with the many amazing ministers and counsellors that we have at our embassy - Arthur Weasley, Emmeline Vance, Amelia Bones, Susan Abbott, Mary Cattermole, Dedalus Diggle, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Gillian Granger, and our newest counsellor, Maria Johnston, just to name a few," she nodded to them each in turn, paused for a moment while her colleagues applauded them, "You've all done stunning, stunning work and it is truly a pleasure coming to work every day. We might just be chatting with Frenchmen all day and going to galas, but I'd say we're pretty damn good at it."

Lily grinned while her colleagues laughed again, "We've been working on the continent over a particularly rocky decade, tackled everything from the fallout of a brutal Brexit to a number of nearly-there international crises and controversies. We've come together as a team, worked with our connections in the French government, and done all we could to ensure that these problems were handled smoothly and efficiently. We've all worked fantastically hard, and I thank you, all of you, for your service."

The room burst into applause and Lily let her eyes drift towards James, now standing at the very front of the crowd just a few metres away. He was smiling so broadly she thought he might burst and _god_ if she didn't love him more than she ever had in that moment.

"I also want to take a minute, in closing, to thank my family - my incredibly dashing husband, James, and my now horribly embarrassed son, Harry." Harry buried his face in his hands and the room lit up with laughter. James dropped an arm around Harry's shoulder, laughter on his lips, and leaned over to whisper in Harry's ear. Lily waved her hand a bit and James led Harry up to the front of the room, stood by her side.

"James and I have been married for twenty years now," James let his hand slide from Harry's shoulder, turned a bit to face her, "We've come a _long_ way," she smiled up at James, and he reached over, took her hand, beaming at her so intensely she was sure he was lighting up the entire universe with his smile.

She thought of all the other times he'd looked at her like that - as he watched her walking down the aisle towards him on their wedding day, when she told him they were going to become parents, when he held Harry for the first time, his cheeks streaked with tears, that megawatt smile filling his face, overwhelmed laughter bubbling out of him, out of her, no matter how exhausted they both were after eighteen fucking hours.

There was something about these smiles, even now, even after twenty-two years that made her feel like a kid again, like she was just meeting him for the first time on the Tube, her eyes flicking hopefully over him, overwhelmed by how unbelievably gorgeous he is. She'd never gotten used to him, not once in all these years - sure, she wanted to kill him sometimes, they _still_ fought about who had to be the one to fold the laundry, about how he was being too soft on Harry again because _grounding doesn't mean he can go to Ron's, James, for fuck's sake!_ but she'd never once gotten used to him. He still made her laugh so hard she spit tea all over herself, still made her heart falter in her chest when he skimmed his fingers casually along the side of her thigh, when he came up behind her while she stood at the cooktop stirring something for dinner, put his hands on her hips, buried his nose in her hair.

It was all the little things he did, the subtle, knowing lift to the corner of his mouth that drove her mad, the way he made her tea in her favourite mug every morning just the way she liked it, how he ran his fingers lightly through her hair, her head in his lap, while she complained loudly and rudely about the diplomat from some country or another, the way his eyes lit up like he'd just won the bloody lottery whenever he talked about some new research he'd been up to at work, the way he challenged Harry to football things and foot races out in the back garden that inevitably ended up in James losing and lying on his back in the grass while Harry ran victory laps around him, Lily laughing brightly from the bench near their flower beds. She beamed back at him now as she realised that he was, _they_ _were_ everything, absolutely bloody _everything_ , and he cocked a knowing eyebrow that drew a bright laugh from her lips, before she turned back and scanned the room in front of her, "We've been through a lot over the past twenty years. James has sacrificed so much to follow me through this mad career... he had to learn French, for god's sake!"

James' struggles with French were _notorious,_ and the room burst into laughter, but it was James, as always, that drew her gaze. His head had dipped back just a bit, his deep, rumbling laugh pushed through the air, through her skin, made her stomach clench. He squeezed her hand before dipping a bit, bringing their joined hands up towards his lips, pressed a kiss to the back of her hand, "Tout pour toi, mon amour." He practically breathed it into her skin and Lily wasn't surprised, not one bit, when her knees went a bit weak.

She took a steadying breath, faced the room again, James' hand still wrapped in hers, "He always says it's not a big deal, moving to France, leaving a job and a city he loved, and maybe, to him, it isn't. But I am eternally grateful that James was willing to change his life to allow me to follow this career, that he was willing to let my goals and ambition take us wherever they led."

"In the end, they only led us across the channel," she laughed, "but I know that James would have been willing to follow me to bloody Antarctica if that's what it had come to. We've built a life here, James has spent the past decade at le Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle and he's achieved some astounding things that I've talked about at _length_ at the embassy," her colleagues laughed, nodded, and she smiled broadly at James, her eyes trained on his, "but, more than anything, I'll never forget his endless love and support and encouragement, and I hope he knows just how much I love him."

The room applauded but Lily could barely hear them - James' eyes were locked on hers, and she couldn't help but stand up just a bit higher on her toes, press a brief kiss to his lips. The light pressure of his mouth against hers set the electric current in her blood screaming through her veins, but, keenly aware that she was in a room with their son and all her colleagues, Lily sank back down onto her heels, said, "I love you," and squeezed his hand.

She pulled her eyes from James, smiled at their son, "And, briefly so he doesn't die of embarrassment, Harry."

Harry flushed pink, but he smiled at her in return and Lily chuckled, "We left England when you were small, just turned six, and watching you adjust to life here has been amazing. You've made lifelong friends here, become so fluent in French that you think you can swear without your father and I knowing," the room burst into laughter again, Harry flushed a deeper red, Lily grinned at him, "and you've grown into a kind, loving young man with a bright future ahead of him. I am so proud of you and I love you more than anything."

Harry walked in front of James, his cheeks tinged a light pink, and pulled her into a hug. "I love you, Mum," he said, smiling when he pulled away. He dipped his head just a bit, ran his hand through his hair, and Lily sighed, reached up and adjusted his hair back to its original (slightly less chaotic) place. Harry flushed a brilliant scarlet and Lily let him go, chuckling a bit to herself as Harry moved to stand between her and James. Lily smiled at them both as James dropped an arm around Harry's shoulders again.

She turned back and smiled at the room, "Enough from me. From what Marlene and Sirius tell me," they both smiled at her from their spots in the room, equally ridiculous grins on their faces, "we've got this place for another hour and all the alcohol in the room has already been paid for. So, drink up and, uh, have fun everyone. Thank you all, again, for coming out tonight. It means the world."

The room dissolved once again into a flurry of conversation and movement, as people got up from their tables, grabbed bottles of wine, drank and laughed with their neighbours. Lily was more than happy to float through the room, smiling broadly, laughing loudly, sharing stories from the twenty-one years she'd spent in the diplomatic service. People slowly trickled out of the room as time ticked by, pulling Lily into hugs, congratulating her, before dipping out. Harry found her about fifteen minutes before they were due to leave, eyes bright with energy and (probably) one or two too many glasses of wine, "Mum, Ron and Hermione are back at the Weasley's, can I go with Mr and Mrs Weasley and stay at theirs tonight?"

Lily looked up at Harry, "I don't see why not, unless," she turned to James, "you have objections?" James shook his head, "No, go ahead, mate. Just let us know when you get there."

Harry sighed, rolled his eyes, "You guys…"

James laughed, "Save it. And bring it in, son." James spread his arms wide, horribly cheeky grin on his face, and Harry sighed, gave them both a quick hug before practically sprinting across the room to where Arthur and Molly were waiting. Molly raised her hand in farewell and Lily smiled, waved back briefly, before she turned to James and raised her eyebrow, "Do you like torturing our son?"

James laughed, wrapped his arm around her waist, "It's the best part of being a parent, if I'm honest."

Lily snorted, pressed her forehead against the side of his arm, "It really is, isn't it?"

James chuckled, leaned down and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, "Alright, Evans, let's get the family and go home, yeah?"

They said their final goodbyes to the last few stragglers, Sirius called the limo round, and they all piled into the back. Remus pulled out a few bottles of champagne from a bag he'd stashed up towards the front of the car. Lily raised an eyebrow and Remus just shrugged, "We're celebrating, aren't we?"

Sirius and Marlene both grabbed a bottle from Remus' arms, popped the corks and sent them bouncing around the back of the car. Lily narrowly avoided getting hit in the neck with one, Remus would have lost an eye if not for the glasses he'd started wearing a few years back, but as they were all feeling the buzz from the alcohol they're already consumed and they were barely able to contain themselves as the corks darted around the inside of the car, she highly doubted that any of them would care if they took a cork to the eye.

It was times like these, sitting around, just the six of them, that Lily sometimes genuinely forgot how much older they were, lost track of how many years had flown by. Popping champagne in the back of a limousine in semi-formal dress was a bit more _out there_ in terms of their usual get togethers, they still far preferred lounging around in the back garden at "THE POTTERS' BLOODY PALACE" as Sirius had taken to calling it, or going out to the most obnoxiously English pub they could find in Paris and drinking all the beer they could stomach, but the effect was the same no matter what they were doing. Once the six of them were in a room (or the back of a car), laughter and nonsense weren't far behind.

Once they'd gotten home, it was still only a matter of time (and a few glasses of whatever nightmarish cocktail Sirius was serving from the bar) before they were all scattered around the lounge, doubled over in hysterics about things that had happened twenty years ago, things that still felt like yesterday. Marlene and Dorcas were lying on the floor in front of the empty hearth, Remus was sprawled on the couch, Sirius' head resting on his knee from where he sat on the floor, James and Lily were beside Remus, her legs in his lap and his hands, as always, tracing shapes on her thighs. Through her tipsy haze, Lily was thankful that she'd had the sense to pop into Charity's office and remind her that she and the rest of the staff could go home and take the weekend. Poor Charity had walked in on her and James in a variety of _compromising positions_ over the years, but she didn't need to be subjected to the drunk fam on top of it all.

"You know what," Marlene picked her head up from Dorcas' lap, wobbling a bit as she sat up on her elbows, "I love you guys."

Sirius groaned into Remus' knee, "Don't get all sappy on us, McKinnon. You're starting to sound like Red."

"Oi!" Lily grabbed the lime out of her drink, hit Sirius with it, "I'm not sappy!"

Remus snorted, "Oh, Lil. Come on."

"What?!"

Dorcas laughed, "Yeah, hate to break it to you, Lily. You're getting sappy in your old age."

She turned to James whose hand had stilled on her thigh, "Is this true?!"

James smiled, reached over and brushed a piece of hair out of her eyes, "You might be a _bit_ sappy, love."

Lily wanted to be mad, really, she did, but James had that look in his eye again, the one that made her feel like he was seeing the whole _world_ when he looked at her, and she felt her irritation soften, melt. She shifted on his lap, wound her fingers in his hair as his hand moved to cup the outside of her thigh, "I think you're a bit sappy too, Potter."

James grinned, pressed his lips to hers before he pulled away, left a breath of space between them, "We can be sappy together, Potter."

"Ugh _god,_ " Sirius groaned louder, pushed himself up to his feet, "Are you two ever going to stop being so disgusting?"

They both gave Sirius the finger as James pressed his laughing lips to hers.


End file.
